Olivo Insulated Containers
An alternative to refrigerated transport for distribution to independent retail stores which saved Palmer and Harvey thousands.
Palmer and Harvey (P & H) is the specialist nationwide distribution service for the petrol & convenience retail market, forecourt and CTN (convenience, tobacco, news) retail arena.
With their 1,000 strong vehicle fleet, they provide a complete supply of all goods needed for a successful store – ambient goods (including tobacco, confectionery and soft drinks) as well as fresh, chilled and frozen produce such as fruit, juices and dairy. P & H deliver to a wise variety or stores ranging from small independent retailers, through to fuel forecourt sites and large multiple retailer stores.
As with any distribution company handling products with a wide temperature range, P & H have continued to improve their operation in recent years. Refrigerated trucks were used for many years but recently the company decided to examine whether portable insulated containers would complement their resources.
Following a series of detailed tests, P & H discovered that they had more consistent temperature control for sensitive produce using Olivo insulated containers rather than refrigerated trucks. This, together with the shipping containers’ reliability, meant P & H thought they would fit well into their system.
An addition benefit has been better space optimisation on their vehicles, reduced CO2 emissions, lower fuel consumption and lower energy costs. Vehicle fleet and required staff have also reduced thus making even greater cost savings.
P & H opted to use the Siber System which injects liquid carbon dioxide into a special compartment at the top of each container to create “snow” for temperature control. The tanks are charged with special computer-controlled “guns” with the liquid gas from a refrigerated pressure tank owned, maintained and supplied by Air Liquide.
An important aspect of the Siber System is that the dry ice injection station computer automatically adjusts the injected amount to specific operational parameters – thus making a considerable cost saving. The carbon dioxide is “green” as it is a recovered and purified product. If it had not been processed for further use, it would have been discharged to atmosphere as an unwanted product in the chemical industry.
Logistics and Development Director, Richard Slater, has been with P & H for 3 years and has a wealth of previous experience with Exel. He said recently: “We deliver to every UK postcode area every day and we couldn’t do that without our integrated network operating with flexibility. Using the Olivo insulated containers provides us with distribution efficiency and customer satisfaction”.