With a payload advantage of up to 700kg in comparison to other 7.5 tonners in its refrigerated fleet, five new 7.5t Isuzu Forwards have recently gone into service for north-west food service company Hannah Foods and are already enabling the company to achieve greater efficiencies within its intensive national distribution operations.
Explaining why the company switched to Isuzu for these latest five new vehicles, Gary Hannah, director, Hannah Foods said; “Payload is absolutely critical to our daily operation and to get almost 700kg extra load per truck makes us far more efficient in our daily delivery schedules. At the same time, the significantly lower cab position on the Isuzus makes it a lot easier for our drivers to get in and out of the vehicles. Each truck handles in excess of 20 delivery drops a day so this is a significant advantage when it comes to loading and unloading.”
Supplied by local Isuzu Truck dealer, Ditchburn Truck Services in Liverpool, all five Isuzu Forward N75.190 rigids were also specified with Isuzu’s ‘Easyshift’ automated transmission. The trucks were supplied with multi-compartment Solomon refrigerated bodies with movable bulkheads that allows flexibility of load between the chilled and frozen compartments. The refrigeration of all five multi-temperature Isuzus is by Carrier Supra MT refrigeration systems.
“Prior to specifying the new Isuzu trucks we had operated three second-hand Isuzus for over a year. It was the performance and payload advantages of these vehicles that highlighted the benefits that could be achieved by adding more Isuzus to our fleet,” added Gary Hannah.
Established in 1977, Hannah Foods is a family-owned busines operating a national food service covering a full range of frozen, chilled and ambient products. The company runs a 19-strong vehicle fleet, ranging from 3.5t vans through to artics and trailer combinations with all vehicles specified for multi-temperature distribution.
As part of the new vehicle specification, each of the 7.5t Isuzus has been fitted with the TranScan 2 data logging system from Seven Telematics. Gary Hannah explains; “We are operating the Isuzus on a range of school contracts where delivery temperature points have to be recorded for all deliveries, as part of the contract.”
Hannah Foods anticipates operating the new Isuzu trucks for a four-year period, covering in excess of 80,000km per annum. When the Isuzus have completed their four-year working life, Hannah Foods expect to be able to transfer the high specification Solomon refrigerated bodies on to replacement new chassis giving them a double life.
“At 7.5 tonnes Isuzu trucks certainly lead the market in terms of payload potential. Payload is critical for companies such as Hannah Foods involved with highly intensive distribution operations. The increase in payload from their latest Isuzus is enabling them to perform far more efficiently on specific delivery programmes within the company’s business,” said Keith Child, marketing director, Isuzu Truck UK.
The full range of Isuzu trucks can be viewed on the company’s website www.isuzutruck.co.uk
