Leading contract hire and rental company Lex Transfleet has placed an order for 97 new vehicles to enhance its 2,000 strong rental fleet. All these replacement vehicles are based on an assortment of DAF chassis cabs, covering the 7.5t, 18t and 26t applications. Lex Transfleet has chosen to standardise the bodies with Solomon Commercials bodies fitted with Supra temperature control systems from Carrier Transicold for all vehicles.

According to Steve Strong, Business Development Manager at Carrier Transicold, “This substantial order from Lex Transfleet represents the biggest ever single order for Supra diesel over cab systems that Carrier Transicold has received here in the UK. It confirms the continued popularity of the well established Supra range, as well as the ongoing success of Carrier Transicold in the demanding truck rental sector.”

This latest order from Lex Transfleet is part of a continuing programme of fleet expansion and follows on from a previous order for 70 new vehicles last year, that were also 100% specified with Carrier Transicold temperature control systems.

According to Andy Cozens, National Sales Development Manager at Lex Transfleet, “We have always had a good strong working relationship with Carrier Transicold, which is essential in our business. Coupled to this, most of our customers already have fleets largely based on Carrier Transicold systems, so it makes sense for us to be able to offer similarly specified vehicles too, giving us the synergy of replicating their fleets.”

Such has been the reliability of the Supra systems in the Lex Transfleet rental fleet that the company is already considering its requirements for 2006 and as Andy Cozens says, “We have found that reliable performance is a key attribute of the Supra systems and already we anticipate specifying a similar size order next year as part of our planned programme of fleet replacement.”

For 2005, the 97 new DAF rigids have been fitted with a selection of Supra temperature control systems, including Supra 750, 850, and 950 systems, with all the vehicles built to multi-temp specification.

Lex Transfleet anticipates that the vehicles will have a 5 year working life, going into service in the rental fleet on a progressive basis from June onwards. The 2,000 strong Lex Transfleet rental fleet now has approximately 30% that are temperature controlled vehicles. These latest vehicles are already pre rented on flexible long and medium term rental agreements with existing customers, including leading names in the food service, dairy, and catering industries.