Bidfood UK is an industry-leading foodservice wholesaler who has been providing multi- temperature deliveries to customers across a wide range of sectors for over 20 years. With a fleet size of more than 800 rigid trucks over 7.5 tonnes, currently only one is electric.
Throughout the UK, demand for alternatively fuelled vehicles is on the rise and councils have started introducing daily charges for fossil fuelled vehicles driving in city centres. In London, Bidfood UK has a customer base with high environmental standards that are seeking ‘emission-free’ deliveries. With that, a brief for Bidfood UK’s second-generation, fully electric vehicle was put forward to Gray & Adams to build a bespoke insulated body with two separate temperature zones. In the Netherlands, Bidfood NL has successfully been operating a dual-temperature, fully electric vehicle with a Gray & Adams insulated body.
Having learned from these operations, along with their own electric vehicle operating in London since 2011, Bidfood UK was better positioned to advise Gray & Adams on the necessary design amendments which would ensure this second-generation electric vehicle would perform with even greater efficiency. This involved altering the internal layout of the body, fitting a eutectic refrigeration system from Frigoblock and mounting the body to a 7.5t FUSO eCanter chassis.
Unlike most refrigerated vehicles, where refrigeration is powered by a diesel engine, the Frigoblock eutectic system is charged at the same time as the vehicle batteries and the stored “cold” refrigerates the vehicle whilst operating without any impact on the vehicle’s range. The vehicle is also equipped with a chill fan system, supplied and installed by PSR, which facilitates dual temperature operations. The use of electric vehicles is on the rise, and the industry is likely to see a massive switchover in the next 10 years. The addition of a second-generation fully electric vehicle to its fleet will see a boost to Bidfood UK’s sustainability credentials.
With a longstanding relationship between Gray & Adams and Bidfood, Director of Fleet Support, Craig Hogg shared:
“The service from Gray & Adams is a benchmark for all of the suppliers along our vehicle production supply chain. It really is second to none and we’ve built a strong relationship over the years. Most of our vehicles, which are produced by Gray & Adams, replicate previous orders. However, when we need something bespoke, this is where they really excel at capturing our requirements.”
