Truck and trailer graphics provide a cost-effective way for dairies to advertise and distinguish themselves from their competition. This proves true both for small regional companies and large national ones like Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream.
Dreyer's recently installed new decals on about 300 refrigerated trucks and trailers nationwide to promote seasonal ice cream incorporating Girl Scouts cookies as an ingredient. The decals are installed on 53-ft trailers and trucks 24 feet or longer. New decals are placed toward the front of the vehicle, offset from the centered Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream logo.
“We are leveraging our in-store advertising with the new trailer designs for increased public visibility,” says Andre Lafayette, associate marketing manager for Dreyer's. “What better way is there to tell the public about new products than by using our own trucks as rolling billboards?”
Based in Oakland, California, Dreyer's has nationwide distribution. In states west of Colorado, including Hawaii and Alaska, and in Texas, ice cream is marketed under the Dreyer's name. East of the Rockies, it is marketed as Edy's Grand Ice Cream, in honor of Joseph Edy, company co-founder with William Dreyer. The pair teamed up to open a small ice cream plant in Oakland in the 1920s. Today, Dreyer's is one of the largest ice cream companies in the United States, with distribution in all states but Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
‘Limited Edition’ Promotions
The Girl Scouts cookies promotion is in its fourth year. In-store signage is used to promote the cookies-and-ice-cream flavors as “limited edition,” or seasonal offerings, available for three to four months, Lafayette says. Three types of Girl Scouts cookies are mixed in ice cream — Thin Mint in chocolate mint ice cream; Tagalongs in vanilla and peanut butter light ice cream with fudge, and Samoas in caramel ice cream with fudge. Dreyer's donates a portion of the sales proceeds to the Girl Scouts.
Launched in February, the Girl Scouts promotion will end by summer. Then Dreyer's will remove store signs and trailer decals. “Dreyer's worked with us on a summer promotion last year to develop product signage using the Scooby-Doo character from the Cartoon Network,” says Lisa Nerren, vice-president and account director for Frankel marketing in San Francisco. “We're in the process of developing this year's theme from the network.”
Frankel, which is based in Chicago, designs and produces all artwork, including the truck and trailer decals, Nerren says. The 3M decals are shipped to Dreyer's distribution centers for installation.
At Dreyer's Houston, Texas, plant, four 53-ft trailers have the new Girl Scouts graphics. “I installed them,” says Bob McDonald, safety manager. “For a large order, we would contract with an outside installer to do the work. However, we run only four 53-ft trailers here for transport between Dreyer's distribution centers in Texas. We also run 19 straight trucks for store delivery. They are 18 and 24 footers. We will install the new decals on new 24-ft trucks beginning with the summer promotion starting in May.”
Innovation Drives Growth
Innovation drives Dreyer's growth, corporate officials say. The company strives to use the latest technology and equipment to provide high-quality products. For distribution, the constant task is to keep ice cream deeply frozen. Even minor temperature changes can alter the texture and taste of premium ice cream.
To ensure that ice cream is kept at least below -15° F in hot, humid Houston summers, new 24-ft straight trucks have dual refrigeration. They use eutectic holdover plates and Thermo King TS-500 mechanical units. Trailers use Thermo King SB-III SR refrigeration units.
“We ordered dual refrigeration because we want to get maximum truck utilization along with minimum fuel and maintenance costs,” McDonald says. “We use electrical power to charge the holdover plates overnight, bringing the box temperature down to -15° F. This allows us to load trucks at night.”
Ice cream actually is colder than the box temperature when loaded, McDonald says. It is stored in the warehouse freezer at -20° F. During the day, the eutectic plates provide backup to the mechanical refrigeration. Runs start about 4 am and usually are finished by noon. “The Thermo King units run as needed,” he says. “A typical route has 12 stops. The cold plates absorb heat each time the rear door is opened. When box temperature rises above -10° F, the Thermo King units start and run until the temperature drops below -15° F. Start-stop units, combined with eutectic plates, allow us to save diesel fuel and refrigeration unit wear. Dual refrigeration also helps ensure deep frozen product. This will allow us to use trucks for afternoon runs as well.”
Johnson Low-Temp Bodies
Dreyer's purchased new 24-ft fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) bodies from Johnson Truck Bodies. The low-temperature bodies have five inches of insulation in the walls and six inches in the floor and ceiling. Three ceiling-mounted -21° F Dole plates are plumbed to a Copeland scroll compressor, skirt-mounted on the roadside of the body.
Bodies have three-panel rear doors for added temperature protection. All three panels can be opened for loading or unloading at refrigerated docks. For street level delivery, only the narrow center section is opened.
The rear doors are equipped with a 4,400-lb-capacity vertical lift manufactured by Interlift Inc in Santa Fe Springs, California. The Interlift ILV 44 4400# uses four hydraulic cylinders: two for lifting and two for tilting. This allows the truck to match different dock heights, or keep a level stance on uneven terrain.
At street stops, the lift platform is raised level with the truck floor. Delivery carts are wheeled onto the platform and lowered, says Armando Ramos, Dreyer's route manager in Houston. The aluminum and steel platform is six feet long. At docks, the folded platform is folded below floor level. Bodies are installed on International 4700-series chassis. Dreyer's leases International tractors and Great Dane refrigerated trailers from Idealease in Houston.
Scan-Based Trading
Dreyer's makes store-direct delivery to ensure a top-quality product, says Michael Franssen, SE Texas distribution manager. To extend quality control a step further, Dreyer's has started scan-based trading with a major food chain customer.
“Our goal is to ensure that the cold cycle is held tight,” Franssen says. “We try to keep the product below -10° F, right up until the consumer takes it out of the store display case. In scan-based trading, we own the product until it is scanned at the check-out counter. The inventory is ours until the consumer pays for it.”
Besides reducing store inventory and improving cash flow, scan-based trading also has advantages for the distributor, Franssen says. Delivery windows can be extended, because with the product under Dreyer's ownership, stocking is Dreyer's responsibility.
“We are allowed to roll into their stores at any time except prime shopping hours, 3 to 8 pm,” he says. “The challenge is to replenish inventory quickly. We've been doing scan-based trading about eight months. Other customers may follow. We believe scan-based trading is a trend for the future.”
Dreyer's projects that the Houston plant will produce 22 million gallons of ice cream in 2001. It is one of three Dreyer's plants; others are in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Union City, California. Ice cream from Houston is distributed throughout the southeastern United States.
The Houston distribution center serves eastern Texas. Tractor-trailers make two or three runs a day from Houston to Dallas, and to San Antonio and Austin every day except Sunday. They also serve Beaumont, Lufkin, and Longview, Texas, at least twice a week. Besides grocery chains, Dreyer's delivers to theme parks, hospitals, sports stadiums, shopping centers, and airports.
“Our goals are to improve customer service continually and to attain better truck utilization,” Franssen says. “Scan-based trading allows us to achieve both.”
