Gray & Adams reefer body brings home the bacon
The first truck to bear the Midland Bacon Company name is fitted with an aerodynamic Gray & Adams temperature-controlled body mounted on a 32-tonne Scania chassis.
This West Midlands, United Kingdom-based processor took the unusual step of specifying an eight-wheeled refrigerated rigid to ensure that it does not fall afoul of axle loading regulations.
“The DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) is becoming very hot on overloading issues, and it’s easy to get caught out on the front axle with a 26-tonner,” said Chris Cox, managing director. “As a responsible operator I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure that my vehicles meet all legal requirements, and I see this concept as being a template for the future.”
This 8x2 truck’s slippery body is contributing to another valuable benefit in the form of impressive fuel efficiency.
“The new vehicle is touching 14 mpg, which compares very favorably to the 10.5 mpg I get from my six-wheelers,” said Cox.
Midland Bacon Co is one of a small handful of privately owned suppliers that provide a complete bacon processing service encompassing butchering, curing, and slicing. This allows it to minimize transit damage so foodservice customers nationwide benefit from a highly consistent product.
The eye-catching 32-tonner has lined up alongside the other 11 vehicles that work from Midland Bacon Co’s headquarters in Walsall. As well as being the company’s biggest truck yet and the first with a livery—its other trucks are plain white—it is also the first with a Gray & Adams body.
Its 9.0-meter insulated box was built and fitted at the manufacturer’s Doncaster production facility. Positioned close to the back of the cab to reduce drag, it features an underslung Carrier Supra 950 single-temperature refrigeration unit and Gray & Adams’ latest, aerodynamically profiled panel cappings. Not only do these improve fuel efficiency, but they also give the vehicle a modern, streamlined appearance. The interior has a full checkerplate floor, stainless steel rear end, and a PIR (passive infrared) lighting system.
The Scania 13-liter two-pedal G410LB 8x2 MNA chassis was supplied by West Bromwich dealer Keltruck and runs on Alcoa Evobright alloy wheels. Its G Highline sleeper cab has leather seats, a refrigerator, and xenon headlamps.
This truck offers an 18-tonne payload and 18-pallet carrying capacity, compared with the 14-tonne payload with 16 pallet spaces that Midland Bacon Co’s 26-tonners can accommodate.
“We run out of weight before we run out of space with the six-wheelers,” said Cox, who founded his company in 1995.
See www.gray-adams.com for more details.