It started with the lighting in our warehouse,” says Steve Stidham, director of operations at South Daytona, FL–based Food Supply Inc. “We replaced high-intensity discharge bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps and cut our electric bill in half. That change paid for itself in three months.”
The experience, Stidham notes, led to several decisions related to the company’s fleet of seven tractor-trailers, which are used across Florida to deliver refrigerated and dry goods. Each day, Food Supply units make about 15 stops carrying a wide range of items from a product list that runs more than 135 pages.
“We’ve really had our eyes opened about what the newest, more efficient trailers, refrigeration units and tractors can mean for us,” Stidham says. “In this business, the fleet is a cost center so we have to show a bottom line improvement, a reduction in our cost per mile, to prove we’re saving the company money. Our latest decisions about the fleet were based on math that in many cases showed a return on investment in months rather than years.
“Reefer fuel consumption is one area we’re addressing successfully by spec’ing Carrier Transicold Vector 8600MT multi-temp refrigeration units on our latest Great Dane 36-ft. reefers,” Stidham states. “The all-electric refrigeration technology cuts fuel use because it is powered on the road by an onboard generator that is driven by the unit’s diesel engine. At the same time, we eliminate fuel consumption altogether with electric standby when we’re loading trailers.
“With the help of PLM Trailer Leasing and Carrier Transicold dealer Sunbelt Transport Refrigeration,” he continues, “we were able to estimate costs and prove that we could quickly recoup the investment we needed to make in an electrical system upgrade at our warehouse and in electric standby on refrigeration units.
“The savings come from significantly lower fuel use,” Stidham adds. “While our 2006 reefers used 25 gal. of fuel on average per day, the new Vector units average just 13 gal. per week.”
Additionally, Stidham says that using electric standby when loading trailers at night helps improve both air and noise quality, and that the system’s self-disconnecting and automatic shutdown feature assures safety if the unit is accidentally left connected when the driver pulls away from the dock.
“We’re also leasing tractors ... Currently, we’re replacing 2011s with 2016 model year units and anticipating a large improvement in fuel economy by spec’ing Detroit DD13, 410-hp. engines and DT12 automated manual transmissions,” he relates. “We’ve also set the maximum road and cruise speed at 70 mph and the idle shutdown timer at five minutes.”
Leasing gives Food Supply a network that can handle everything from service to breakdowns, Stidham notes. “Lessors are a backstop for us and our drivers,” he says. “They provide support and have assets located throughout the state so if there’s a problem, we can quickly replace the unit and ensure orders are delivered in a timely manner.”
Food Supply strives to stay competitive by meeting all the needs of its customers and by continually bringing in more national brand items to expand its offerings. Today, the company enjoys an industry-leading order fill rate, i.e., the number of items shipped as a percentage of the number ordered, of 99.6%.
