ABM Q4 - Flipbook - Page 86
INT E RV I E W
COOLKIT
incentivise even longer periods of vehicle
ownership. Therefore, it's more important
than ever that what we build is fit for a
longer period in use.”
Across all fuel types, CoolKit has seen
rising demand for more highly specified
vehicles, as well as those that are able to
fill multiple roles.
Gatty explains: “There's a need for
vehicles to be more versatile. We're
finding there's more and more uptake of
vehicles that will deliver both chilled and
frozen temperatures.
“I'm also seeing examples of rental
companies that run spot hire fleets,
spending far more on their vehicle
specification than they would have done
previously. While they have spent a lot
making a refrigerated vehicle, they often
find that it's not suitable these days,
because either they can't plug it into the
mains for powering when parked up, or
they can't plug in a refrigerator into the
back of a van that's ordinarily ambient in
the back.”
As global warming continues, Gatty
also expects that fleets that traditionally
did not require refrigeration will soon
need to adopt it.
He says: “Most pharmaceutical
produce, if they're dry goods, tend to
have to be transported at around 20
Celsius, which forms the majority of the
load space of the van. But as long as
there are liquids being delivered, which
might be vaccines, or weight control
drugs like Wegovy, they're liquids at the
moment. The small onboard refrigerators,
that are typically about 150-litres of
useable volume, they're finding that
they're not big enough.
“It was reported in The Times that
Boots’ home delivery of medicines
operation had to pretty much shut
down the other week, when the ambient
temperature hit 38 Celsius. The produce
was getting damaged, because those
home delivery vehicles of theirs don't use
temperature control.
“By failing to equip the vehicles
adequately, they're losing vast amounts
of produce and disappointing their
customers.
"It's going to be a real trend, and
perhaps an emerging refrigerated vehicle
fleet in the foreseeable future. These
firms, they simply can't afford that kind
of bill. They’re incredibly high value loads.
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It's not uncommon for them to be £0.5m
worth of stuff on a 3.5-tonne van.”
Sustainability goes further
A survey conducted by Arval in
August found that 23% of fleets were
adopting electric vans to reduce their
environmental impact. But to truly
improve sustainability, refrigerated
vans need more than just a plug, as the
insulation and refrigerants have their
own environmental impact.
Moving to more sustainable materials
can also deliver operational benefits,
Gatty explains: “I crave insulators that
aren't fossil fuel derived. That might
mean using recycled products, if it
doesn't require more energy to recycle
than to start from scratch.
“We're also looking into mineral-based
insulating materials. If we can get a
similar insulating effect with thinner
insulation, because of improved
thermal properties, then you'd end up
with a vehicle that was carrying less
insulation, which might be a good factor
in terms of its useable payload, but it
might also compromise less of the load
volume.
“With the organically refrigerated units
that we're distributing, [such as] the PBX,
its main premise is that it doesn't use
fluorinated gas as a refrigerant.
“This is great news for those who care
about what they publish in terms of their
environmental, social and governance
(ESG) strategy, because while they
might have a vehicle with zero tailpipe
emissions, it's not true that they've got
an entire vehicle without emissions, if it’s
leaking refrigerant every day. Refrigerant
is quite potent stuff.”
Organic refrigerants also ease the
installation and maintenance process,
as they do not require a certified
F-gas engineer, helping to address the
skills shortage.
The upcoming Euro 7 regulations have
gone some way in looking at a vehicle’s
environmental impact beyond what
comes out of the back, setting limits
on other particulates, such as those
generated by brakes.
However, refrigerant systems are not
included. Gatty believes this is a missed
opportunity to drive further sustainability
gains, saying: “Those additional sources
of toxins and pollutants have been
