Tradeteam Continues To Reduce Carbon Footprint With New Fleet Order

Dec. 17, 2009 - PRLog -- The UK’s leading drinks logistics provider Tradeteam has taken delivery of 25 new tractor units from leading manufacturers DAF and Volvo.

Tradeteam has purchased 20 Volvo FH13s and five DAF CF85s to help minimise the fleet’s overall environmental impact and to reduce comparative fuel consumption.

The 6x2 tractors which operate at 44 tonnes and 460bph will be used for the dedicated bulk movement of beverages from Tradeteam’s operating centres at Burton-upon-Trent (Staffordshire) and Alton (Hampshire).

The new DAFs include a hatcher air spoiler developed for tall UK trailers above four metres. During recent trials with parent company DHL this modification recorded consistent fuel savings.

Each Volvo is fitted with an enhanced environmental engine which goes beyond the Euro 5 mandatory standards. All 25 vehicles have idle cut off and are limited to 85kph to help further reduce emissions.

Fifteen of the Volvos will take part in a special operational field test project to evaluate driver & truck behaviour with regard to additional safety features, which include hidden hazard sensors, spoken handbrake warning, AS-Tronic automated gear change, cruise control and air conditioning to reduce driver fatigue and enhance alertness.

Chris Fleck, Engineering Operations Manager at Tradeteam, said: “We are very excited about this investment. These new additions will help us to reduce our environmental impact without having to compromise our existing service levels.

“By choosing two different manufacturers we can successfully benchmark one against the other and closely monitor which performs best on our specific environmental and safety targets.

“The Volvos will be some of the first EEV engined Volvo’s to be operated in the UK and demonstrate our continued commitment to reducing our carbon footprint while the DAFs enjoyed a similar success to us at this year’s prestigious Motor Transport Awards. Haulier of the Year will now be using Truck of the Year and we are looking forward to continuing to successfully perform together!”

The new additions to the fleet are expected to cover more than 250,000km a year while on the road seven days a week.

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Issued on behalf of Tradeteam by Adessi. For more information contact Beth Leonard on (0113) 256 9999 or beth.leonard@adessi.co.uk

Notes to editors:
Tradeteam is part of the world’s largest logistics company – DHL.  Employing over 2,400 people with 600 vehicles, the business is the number 1 drinks logistics supplier in the UK with a turnover in excess of £160m, delivering to more than 30,000 ‘on trade’ outlets each week and more than 7,000 primary (off-trade) trips each month.  Tradeteam picks 50 million items per year at 99.88% accuracy.  Customers include Molson Coors, Anheuser-Busch Inbev and JD Wetherspoon.

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Tradeteam is part of the world’s largest logistics company, DHL, and is the UK’s number one drinks supplier with a turnover of £160m +. It was formed in 1995 with the sole aim of offering brewers, drinks’ brand owners & retailers tailored services.