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THE COLD FACTS
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• British bodybuiders are doing well in the reefer market. More than seven out of ten operators buy home-built equipment and more than eight out of ten are happy with the performance they get in return.
According to our exclusive
Bodybuilder survey this month, 67% of refrigerated vehicle operators have no intention of buying foreign-made bodies and a staggering 47% claim that environmental pressures have still not made any difference to their company or its plans for the future.
It is still a small and fragmented road transport market. 83% of reefer operators run only 25 vehicles or less and the companies we interviewed which ran more than 100 vehicles were virtually all working major, long-term distribution contracts for national supermarket chains. Several of the bigger reefer operators told Bodybuilder that times are getting much harder, however, and that vehicles which were once kept busy are now being contracted out on short-term rental deals to keep them occupied.
We were shocked to discover that 59% of operators in the business did not run any multi-compartment reefer bodies. Indeed, more or less all of the 59% concerned also spontaneously told us that they did not run any multi-temperature units either. There did not seem to he any feeling in the market that this proportion might increase when the new government carriage of foodstuffs regulations get closer to the statute book. There could be a lot of ostriches out there.
An even higher percentage, 65%, told us that they did not use any moving bulkheads in their reefers. In fact, we had to struggle hard to make a large number of interviewees understand what we meant by a moving bulkhead. Load
restraint straps still seem to be the most popular method of fixing goods inside reefers and very few of our operators could see the benefit of using less load space and therefore less energy when transporting half-loads. -Just tie the stuff down if you're not full. what's the problem?.." we were told.
Satisified customers are the most difficult to pump for information. When we asked nearly 150 reefer operators whether or not they were happy with the performance or reliability of their refrigeration units, an unbelievable 85% said yes. Try as we might, it was hard to find any general problem areas. Of the 15% who grizzled, most had to to admit that their problem had been due to one isolated breakdown, and that their equipment in general was reliable. Typically, one Hampshire-based haulier told us "The main distributor fan exploded, and the load was ruined, but it has only happened the once."
We were even more amazed to hear that virtually every operator in the reefer market does not worry about fuel consumption —94% told us that fuel consumption on their fridges was so negligible they did not think about it.
Noise levels worried more people, however. Four out of ten want quieter fridge motors please, usually because they have suffered complaints from people living around their operating centre and been dragged up before the Licensing Authority. One County Durham company complained that fridge motors are still "unnecessarily loud" and that local residents and truck drivers trying to sleep overnight in the cab deserve quieter technology, and soon.
One in five operators are unhappy with warranty and service back-up facilities in the market — why? "It is not the motors, its the bodybuilding itself," said one Yorkshire operator, "it's often crummy and not properly finished off. More bodybuilders should use quality control systems at the end of the production line and tighten up their check procedures."
Longer warranties are desperately needed said lots of our interviewees and one Newbury-based operator told us, "12 months warranty is a joke — the bodybuilders should extend it to five years at the very least."
A large number of reefer operators also feel that they are being ripped off when getting hold of spare parts following a breakdown or a repair. One company told us that it had been charged £741.70p recently for a part that it knows the bodybuilder concerned is obtaining for just under £400. Try as he might, the operator in question could not get hold of the part by any other means than going through the bodybuilder, and is feeling very bitter! Beware!
Our results show that cold air retention during loading and unloading is the area of reefer body design which needs most improvements. Suggestions for getting around the problem included inner plastic doors or curtains, partitions and perhaps even properly insulated roller shotters for reefers which have to make lots of high street drops. A West Yorkshire operator commented . . Shutters instead of doors should be installed or even a dock sealer."
A further 18% of respondees felt that temperature control and monitoring systems could be improved. The general opinion was that operators would like to see a form of control unit in the driver's cab. so that drivers can regularly monitor temperatures. Another suggestion was to have a warning light installed in the cab for when the temperature fell below minimum standards.
An operator from Bristol summarised the general opinion when he said . . ." We need more accuracy, add-on parts should be part of the overall body system. Warning light or digital read outs should be in the drivers cab. You can obtain these parts but, separate from the overall body and they are rather costly."
Tail-lifts are cumbersome and unnecessary. The general opinion was that they are often too heavy and mounted too low to the ground.
Finally, the Green debate. The results show that the majority of operators who took part in the survey were very concerned about environmental pressures being put on their operations.
An operator based in Clwyd told us . . we find that general quality and the stringent measures our bodybuilder takes as a large company has meant that we are ahead of improvements and generally don't have to worry about noise, fuel, listeria etc."
47% of operators claimed that current pressures were having no effect on their business. This is largely due to the positive preventative measures that these operators have taken in the past. In fact it should be highlighted that this survey has proven that reefer operators are very sympathetic and understanding towards environmental issues in general.
As pointed out by an operator based in SE London "We try to accommodate legislation and local feeling as it comes along." Keep trying.
E by Geoff Iladwick