ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Get more from your temperature-controlled van fleet

Date: Thursday, February 23, 2023

Executive team members (L-R) Matthew Kershaw, head of operations, Rupert Gatty, founder and CEO, Daniel Miller, managing director, and Mike Scappaticci, head of fleet sales pictured with CoolKit’s new Ford E-Transit conversion

As the 2023 What Van? Converter of the Year, CoolKit is a leader in bringing innovation to temperature-controlled van conversions, ready-converted vans and portable refrigerators for both small and large fleets.

Since 2005, CoolKit has grown to employ more than 100 valued team members today, with the capacity to produce more than 1,500 van conversions per year. Of those, 500 are expected to be sold as ready-converted vans, with 750 as conversions of our customers own vans, and a further 250 in kit form in both the UK and export markets.

Recently the company has completed a restructuring of its executive team following the recent announcement of record order intake in 2022. New colleagues joining Rupert include managing director Danny Miller, with Mike Scappaticci and Matthew Kershaw heading up fleet sales and operations respectively.

CoolKit’s products maintain precise critical temperature control in transportation, ensuring the safe and compliant transportation of foods, pharmaceuticals, and environmental samples, while optimising fleet productivity, and minimising ownership and running costs.

We hold a unique and extensive portfolio of accreditations from numerous OEM’s – including Ford, Volkswagen, Renault, Toyota and Stellantis, and are the preferred supplier to many major leasing companies – including Lex Autolease, ALD Automotive, Arval, LeasePlan, Zenith and Alphabet.

Supporting the EV transition

One challenge facing our industry is the transition towards net zero. Operating within the transport industry, we are aware we need to reduce vehicle emissions by certain deadlines. CoolKit has placed this at the forefront of our operation.

Although we understand that a full infrastructure for recharging battery-powered electrically propelled vehicles (EVs) is yet to be fully realised in the UK, and many fleet operators are considering a phased approach to their EV transition, this transition is inevitable.

The infrastructure is moving forward at pace and advances in battery technology are making electric commercial vehicles a more practical option too. That is why CoolKit has worked to pioneer EV conversions for operators of refrigerated vehicle fleets, which address the challenges of payload, range, and total cost of ownership (TCO).

Maximising your payload

One measure of vehicle productivity is payload – and ensuring maximum payload remains a key focus for CoolKit as we start to see an increase in the percentage of our sales mix that is EV – with one in 20 of the vans we convert nowadays being zero emission.

Electric vans tend to be heavier than their combustion engine powered equivalents, meaning that their payload – the amount they can carry – can easily be compromised. If this issue is not addressed, it could lend itself to the unwelcome outcome of increased road traffic congestion – so taking steps to reduce unladen vehicle mass and increase load volume are core strategies for improving vehicle productivity that CoolKit is focussed upon.

Supporting your sustainability agenda

As well as burning fossil fuels, the processes of manufacturing insulation and transport refrigeration generate significant Scope 3 carbon emissions. Having recently eliminated the use of timber and timber products such as plywood as panel elements as our contribution to the cessation of deforestation, we are presently evaluating alternatives to the polystyrene insulation used in our conversions, to decrease our reliance on fossil fuel derived products and the associated environmental impact of our value chain.

Finally, our customers with an evolving sustainability agenda benefit from CoolKit’s commitment to the environment, which is demonstrated by the continuity of our ISO14001:2015 standard, now held for twelve years as part of a range of measures to underline our commitment to a cleaner environment.

Working with a converter partner like CoolKit means that you can accelerate your own move towards a more sustainable and productive fleet today.

For more information, visit the CoolKit website at www.coolkit.co.uk

Try our new online configurator CoolSelecta or speak to one of our specialists on 0845 459 5418

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