Temperature-controlled distribution specialist McCulla has become the first customer in Ireland to commission a Gray & Adams semitrailer fitted with the manufacturer’s latest-generation panel cappings.
Specified for optimum fuel efficiency, the new 13.6-meter trailer is now several weeks into a three-month trial and already producing impressive mpg savings of up to 5%.
Gray & Adams unveiled its new cappings at the Commercial Vehicle Show 2014 in Birmingham. They are more aerodynamically profiled than its previous, standard one-piece cappings, a feature that helps to reduce diesel consumption as well as giving the trailer or rigid vehicle a more modern, streamlined appearance. Impact-resistant and bonded to prevent moisture ingress, the cappings are also designed to accommodate the high-visibility tape that is now legally required.
McCulla operates from bases in Lisburn and Dublin, Ireland and is a long-standing customer of Gray & Adams. It purchased Ireland’s first Gray & Adams trailer about 35 years ago, and now the same supplier accounts for approximately 80% of its 125 semitrailers, as well having built bodies for a high proportion of its rigid vehicles.
The latest addition to that fleet is equipped with Thermo King’s SLX-e Spectrum multi-temperature refrigeration unit and advanced TouchPrint temperature recording system. In another first for McCulla, it has a roof-mounted vortex generator that manages airflow over the back of the trailer. To further boost economy, it is also equipped with low-rolling-resistance Generation 3 tires from Continental.
Pulled by one of McCulla’s fuel-efficient Mercedes-Benz New Actros tractor units, the new trailer has a moving internal bulkhead and two levels of recessed load lock. It is also fitted with Gray & Adams’ sliding suzie rail. The gantry coupling device slides to the edge of the body, eliminating the need for the driver to climb between the tractor unit and trailer to connect and disconnect the air and electrical suzie lines. This makes the process quicker, easier, and safer.
McCulla’s new trailer has also won a thumbs-up from Mervyn Cardwell, the reigning Export & Freight Driver of the Year, to whom it has been assigned. It was built at the Gray & Adams (Ireland) production facility in Newtownabbey.
Founded in 1969 by David McCulla, the company is now owned and run jointly by his son Ashley and daughter Carol Thompson. Its fleet of Gray & Adams semitrailers includes a number of twin-deck units that are used to distribute pharmaceuticals, 10.8-meter versions with steering rear axles for urban deliveries, and meat-railers.
Go to www.mcculla.co.uk for further details.
