Dale Brothers, which specializes in temperature-controlled transport in the United Kingdom, recently added 10 refrigerated trailers manufactured by Schmitz Cargobull. Three of the trailers were specified with meat hanging systems, and Schmitz Cargobull built and delivered the trailers in only 12 weeks, the companies said.
Dale Brothers’ initial order included four multi-temperature and three mono-temp trailers, each equipped with Schmitz Cargobull’s TrailerConnect telematics for full visibility when delivering chilled and frozen food produce to supermarkets across the UK. But when the Telford-based operator secured a new contract to transport lamb products, it returned to Schmitz Cargobull, which opened short-term production slots at its Vreden factory in Germany in order to supply the additional meet-hanging trailers on time.
“We’ve sourced most of our fleet from Schmitz Cargobull because the trailers are very robust with maximum uptime,” said Neyland Dale, director at Dale Brothers. “Their suitability for our work makes them the stand-out choice, and the team provided us with the ideal trailers quicker than any other manufacturer.”
Schmitz Cargobull’s TrailerConnect software enables Dale Brothers to trace deliveries any time and provides complete cold chain visibility through real-time temperature monitoring. The system records and stores information in an online portal, which is available via a mobile app. In the event of a security threat, unplanned usage or deviations from setpoints, alert messages are sent to the operator via SMS or email.
“TrailerConnect gives us the complete picture, so we can monitor an entire trailer from the fridge unit right down to the axles and tires,” Dale said. “No other manufacturer has been able to give us this much information before. Being able to make decisions through a phone app makes the process very easy to manage.”
The trailers also include bumper protection under the rear doors for more reinforcement when reversing into supermarket bays during unloading, and each asset is cooled by Schmitz Cargobull’s reefer unit, which features an intelligent evaporator designed to reduce defrosting cycles by up to 50%.
