Chiltern Distribution have turned to CoolKit to help them successfully deliver a growing number of ‘just in time’ deliveries to meet customer demand.

Paul Jackson, Managing Director of Chiltern Distribution, has recently purchased two Mercedes Sprinter temperature-controlled vans from the market-leading refrigerated converter as part of their vehicle replacement scheme.

Peterborough-based Chiltern Distribution can transport anything that requires a temperature-controlled service between -25 degrees and +25 degrees, and their main industries include the pharmaceutical and food sectors.

Paul, who has been with the company for 25 years, said the European-wide company has seen a sharp rise in the number of ‘just in time’ requests.

He said: “People want their goods yesterday. The generation of people we are dealing with grew up with Amazon. Businesses nowadays don’t carry as much stock because buying and storing products costs money. More and more people go hand to mouth, requiring smaller, more regular deliveries – especially with items such as fast food products.”

The two new Mercedes Sprinter refrigerated vans from CoolKit brings Chiltern’s fleet to 40 articulated 44-tonne trucks and 8 panel vans.

He said: “I had a CoolKit vehicle on rental because one of my vans was in an accident and I was really impressed with the build quality.”

Chiltern’s specific requirements included a dual compartment vehicle with a moveable bulkhead, pallet protection pack, LED lighting, ATP specification, and temperature recorder.

He said: “The vehicles are on the road seven days a week and get a lot of use so what I’m interested in is the quality of the build. I need a converted vehicle that will do 350,000 miles over three years.

“CoolKit’s vehicles are well built, durable conversions. The insulation quality is to a high standard, so, over time, we should also see fuel cost savings and less wear on the vehicles.

“The key thing CoolKit offers compared to other converters is the extra payload capacity. An extra 70kg per van is 7% of the payload. A pallet of goods is usually sold by the tonne, and the weight may be slightly over the threshold for the older vehicles. Without the newer CoolKit vehicles I’d have to send a HGV, which is more costly.

“There are a lot of rivals out there – but when it comes to converting refrigerated vehicles everything CoolKit do, they do it right.”

Mark Beaton, Sales Specialist at CoolKit, explains: “When we can deliver a solution to a customer that not only meets their requirements, but exceeds them, it makes the job worthwhile.

“CoolKit’s continuous improvements regarding quality of build, value for money and product reliability have seen us become the largest converter of panel vans in the industry.

“It is a real pleasure to deal with customers such as Paul, who understand quality when they see it and value the overall customer experience.”