Almost 100 Mercedes-Benz Vito vans have gone into service with W R Refrigeration. Equipped with customised racking for tools and spare parts plus carriers for bottles of refrigerant gas by Colchester-based Fleetshield Services, the 2.7-tonners are being used by the company’s rapid-response service team. They replace an earlier fleet of Vitos. Of the 97 111CDIs acquired, two are Long-bodied variants. The remainder are Compacts. They’re all subject to a four-year leasing agreement with Mercedes-Benz CharterWay. Another Daimler company, Daimler Fleet Management, will oversee their maintenance.
A Finnish company, W R Refrigeration has its UK headquarters in Leicester and the vans were all supplied through local dealer Mertrux. With 16 branches around the UK, W R provides refrigeration services primarily to national food retailers including the major supermarkets. As well as maintaining and repairing units under contract — it is committed to responding in four hours in an emergency — it installs fridge cabinets.
The performance and overall reliability of its previous Vitos plus the desire to project a premium image were all influencing factors in the company’s decision. It has also acquired a pair of Sprinter 313CDI 3.5-tonners.
