The arrival of the new trailers marks the first Vector 1850 units to be acquired by Arla Foods and continues a trend which began 11 years ago when the company appointed Carrier Transicold as one of its strategic supply partners. The Vector 1850 units join Arla’s fleet of over 300 refrigerated trailers, more than 95 per cent of which use Carrier Transicold temperature control equipment.

Gordon Irvine, Group Fleet Director at Arla Foods, says: “We carried out a ‘back to basics’ review of our requirements in 1998 which led to the start of our business relationship with Carrier Transicold. This has continued to grow ever since and brings benefits for both parties, specifically for us around the areas of performance and reliability.

“With the arrival of the new Vector 1850 refrigeration system we are expecting an improvement in fuel consumption when operating on a continuous chilled application, in comparison to our previous generation Vector 1800 units. Coupled with reduced engine emissions, this will help support our own environmental targets,” he adds.

In addition to its reduced engine emissions and lower fuel consumption compared to its predecessor, each Vector 1850 offers excellent refrigerant containment owing to its unique design, which includes 50 per cent fewer joints on the refrigeration circuit and a semi-hermetic compressor that helps to ensure the lowest possible leak rate.

It also includes patented all-electric technology, which eliminates 17 serviceable parts, such as belts, clutch and shaft seal, to enable a longer product life and enhanced reliability. Further, 94 per cent of the components used in a Vector 1850 unit can be recycled at the end of its operating life.

Each unit has been built to a bespoke-specification for Arla Foods, incorporating a low noise kit which further reduces the decibel output of each refrigeration system. They also feature an out-of-range warning lamp which is situated on the front bulkhead of the trailer and illuminates to alert the driver if the temperature is out of range.

The new 13.6m tri-axle trailers join Arla’s total fleet of more than 400 trucks and 600 trailers, including over 300 trailers which are dedicated for temperature controlled transport.

Operating primarily from three of the company’s large dairies in Ashby de la Zouch, Hatfield Peverel and Oakthorpe, the trailers will be used to carry packaged milk direct to stores nationwide. These deliveries contribute to the 2,200 deliveries made each day by Arla Foods, which in addition to milk and cream, also includes butter, cheese and yoghurt.