A customized delivery fleet of 52 Thermo King multi-temperature Sprinter vans is saving Sheetz Inc, an Altoona PA-based convenience restaurant chain operation, more than 148,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually.
This distribution method is one example of Sheetz’s commitment to sustainability and energy and operational efficiency. The Sheetz Sprinter van fleet travels 5.6 million miles a year, making 160,000 deliveries.
Thermo King presented Sheetz with the “Energy Efficiency Leader Award” in recognition of its efforts to increase the company’s environmentally sound practices. Sheetz is the first convenience retail chain to win the award.
Ray Pittard, president of Thermo King North America, will present the award July 31 to Stan Sheetz, president and chief executive officer of Sheetz Inc. A customized Sprinter van was onsite at the award presentation, which took place at the Sheetz Center for Shwellness in Claysburg PA.
Sheetz added the vans to its larger fleet in 2012 to support distribution of baked goods from its Sheetz Bros kitchen bakery and commissary. The vans provide the precise multi-temperature delivery conditions needed to ensure product freshness and maintain shelf life for deliveries to more than 450 Sheetz locations in Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Sheetz leaders; Thermo King; Thermo King of Pittsburgh, the local dealer; and Arctic Vans collaborated to develop a system that incorporated an efficient multi-temperature refrigeration unit with electric standby, custom air distribution, and an auxiliary Espar heating system. The heating unit delivers exceptional temperature recovery in extreme cold conditions, and the electric standby option lets the unit be plugged while loading at the distribution center. This saves more than 85,000 gallons of fuel each year.
Designed to provide capacities needed for smaller trucks and vans, the refrigeration units allow controlled temperature settings for dual-temperature zone transportation. The configuration is adjustable; it can be fresh-fresh, fresh-frozen, frozen-fresh, or frozen-frozen.
The refrigeration unit also provides an environmentally sound transport refrigeration choice for metropolitan deliveries, since it is powered by the vehicle rather than an additional diesel engine. The Sheetz fleet of heavy-duty trucks also has energy-efficient multi-temperature refrigeration units with door sensors to maximize energy and efficiency.
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