FreshLinc, a service provider to retailers, food manufacturers and growers, is adding 120 temperature-controlled KRONE trailers to its fleet, one of which is adorned with artwork by 6-year-old Olivia Chatterley, the daughter of a FreshLinc supplier, paying tribute to the transport industry and the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
Combining hand-painted images of a truck, bus and the now-familiar NHS rainbow symbol, the colorful design thanks “Our transport workers” and the NHS “For helping us through Covid-19.”
“I was kindly sent the picture by Olivia, which was done as part of a school project, and together with our operations director, Lee Juniper, we thought it was so good and such a fitting tribute to the NHS and key workers that we transformed it into a large vinyl wrap and put it onto one of our trailers, which will be delivering produce around the country,” said Andy Marchant, FreshLinc’s fleet engineer.
FreshLinc says 400 vehicles and 1,000 trailers are working throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and Europe on a seven-day cycle as part of its total supply chain management of temperature-sensitive food products, and, as Marchant points out, this trailer in particular will make a big impact.
“Before it joins the rest of our fleet, the trailer will be on a special schedule, visiting care homes and hospitals around the UK on Thursday evenings, as part of the national ‘Clap,’ to show our appreciation to all the kind and hard-working doctors and nurses on the front line,” he said.
Marchant goes on to explain that the latest consignment of trailers from Krone reflects FreshLinc’s continued growth and increasing workload from UK and European customers looking for a comprehensive and more reliable level of service, particularly in light of the unprecedented challenges presented by the novel coronavirus.
“During these unusual times, the resolve and support of every FreshLinc employee, key worker and supplier partner is relied on to maintain an uninterrupted flow of food items to retailers throughout the country,” Marchant maintained. “In keeping with this, our focus is on the safety and well-being of our staff while keeping up with the daily demands of our customers and accordingly, we have introduced various safety measures and additional cleaning regimes.”
With more than 6,000 mixed loads per week on FreshLinc’s diverse chilled, ambient, container, crane, bulk transport and horticultural operations, the KRONE Cool Liner trailers will play a part in delivering single- and multi- temperature consignments and, in total, make up 200 Krone trailers in the FreshLinc fleet.
“The equipment supplied by Krone is specified to match the wide-ranging demands of our operation” Marchant added. “Their technical and general support is first-class, and given the high quality of the trailers, we can expect a good residual value in later years.”
