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Road Trip
As dairy distribution evolves, truck and trailer
refrigeration technology rolls forward.
by Lynn Petrak
It’s one aspect of a
business that is truly customer driven. Trailers and trucks that transport
dairy products reflect a swift pace with emerging technology, as
manufacturers make continual improvements literally from the inside out.
Hauling products from point A to point B may sound
simple enough, but as anyone who has overseen the distribution chain can
attest, there are a host of challenges and issues involved. For example,
the changing nature of dairy manufacturing has, to varying degrees,
impacted the way products are shipped on trailers, trucks and refrigerated
units, commonly known as “reefers.”
As dairy conglomerates take over more regional brands
and cooperatives expand their reach, distribution is inevitably affected.
Drivers may go longer distances to reach customers, while broader product
lines require different temperature controls and compartment set-ups.
Consolidation also has had an effect on equipment
decision making, which has become increasingly centralized. “Dairies
are getting more and more combined, and you may have one or two buyers
getting 300 trucks at a time. It’s what they decide,” says John
Cook Jr., plant manager for Dole Refrigerating Co., Lewisburg, Tenn., a
family-owned business that manufactures plate systems and dual-contact
freezers.
According to Jeffrey Caddick, purchasing agent for
Henderson, Ky.-based trailer and van body maker Hercules Manufacturing Co.,
having more brands under one umbrella often leads to the desire for a more
uniform fleet. “Dairy people are very much into identity. They want
[each of] their trucks to look the same and [the fleet] to stand out, so
when people are going down the road they say, ‘There is Dean
Foods,’ for example,” he says.
Beyond aesthetics, there are other reasons for
uniformity, according to Doug Lenz, director, trailer product management
for Thermo King Corp., Minneapolis. “Customers will ask, ‘What
are you doing for consistency?’ Their preference is to move toward
one product, so from a driver-training perspective, it is
consistent,” he says.
In addition to effects from consolidation, efficiency
is a major concern for all types of dairies. “Our customers on the
dairy side are trying to figure ways to work together, in partnerships, to
increase density or reduce operating costs,” says Greg LaFrance,
director of sales and marketing for Johnson Truck Bodies, a Rice Lake,
Wis.-based division of Carlisle Cos.
Steadily rising fuel prices have facilitated new
customer demands and, in turn, trailer and truck designs. “The
environment has changed and everyone is just more sensitive to costs. They
want cost-effective alternatives and equipment that will last a long time
— truck bodies that will last through three chassis and more,”
says Caddick. “And with consolidations in the truck-body industry,
dairy people are not always getting the value they used to get, when they
purchase products with familiar names on them.”
Safety is another hot topic in reefer technology.
“We are seeing a focus not necessarily on hours of service but of
driver retention and safety issues. The guys in this business are asking us
to build a safer and quicker body to exit and enter,” LaFrance says.
Lenz has fielded similar requests about driver
concerns. “We hear more from customers about what we can do for ease
of use. It’s getting more and more difficult to attract drivers, and
a multilingual capability is a more important,” he notes.
Body Shop
Providing trucks and trailers that are as easy to use
as they are reliable is no small task. To that end, there has been ongoing
improvement in trailer and truck design, from the body itself to cooling
systems to tracking capability.
Passing them by on the highway, it may not look like
there have been many changes in reefer bodies over the years, but a closer
inspection reveals that there have been definite refinements. Johnson Truck
Bodies, for example, has made adjustments to its fleet. According to
LaFrance, 2004 was a busy year for parts orders and new purchases;
customers have invariably placed a priority on maintenance.
“Customers want to have the body last longer, so we are putting
stainless hardware on there. Instead of driving around a rusty old box,
they want a nice, clean fiberglass truck body,” he says.
Last year, Johnson launched a new refrigerated retail
dairy-delivery vehicle. The new truck, which has the nostalgic look of
1950s-era milk trucks, has an aerodynamic design that is able to
accommodate both frozen and fresh products. “We have created a
cab/chassis combination that is modified to duplicate the way retail milk
has been delivered for years, a bifold side door, a sliding passage door
and a large front windshield. We also marry our body with a customized roof
that slides on top of the modified cab,” explains LaFrance, adding
that there has been a spike in demand for home retail delivery.
“It’s a comeback of convenience.”
When it comes to bodies, some dairy companies choose
to stick with aluminum exteriors. “Our customers are finding that
when they damage a fiberglass body, it is more expensive to repair. With a
sheet-and-post body, you can take it to any trailer or body repair shop,
and the construction has proven to be efficient in a lot of different
applications,” Caddick says.
Hercules has made various refinements to its aluminum
bodies, designed for efficiency and economy. “We use an 8-inch
extruded aluminum front radius, which is TIG (tungsten inert gas) welded,
rather than utilizing corner caps. That gives a nice aerodynamic effect
that is both watertight and structural,” he says, adding that
Hercules designers have also incorporated certain technology common to the
larger trailer manufacturers with respect to the foaming operation.
“This allows us to have a flatness to our interior and exterior
linings. We have a higher density and smaller cell structure with our
pressure foaming, which provides a better insulating value in our truck
bodies.”
Lift mechanisms are another area of concentrated
improvement. Last year, Johnson developed a hydraulic drop-floor delivery
system called the PowerPlatform. “It’s essentially
integrated into the body of the truck, so it’s not a lift gate per
se. It’s ready to go when it gets to the delivery location and
it’s been saving about an hour per delivery day,” LaFrance
says. “There is less maintenance with this lift, because there are
not exposed cylinders, and there are safety benefits as well.”
L&K Equipment, Inc., Chichester, N.H., has been
promoting its innovative delivery system. The original “Slick
Lift” is a fully hydraulic lift, which is integrated into a section
of the truck body floor, and offers several advantages, according lift
inventor and company president Ron Wroblewski. “It may not be the
answer for everyone, but it is the answer for most dairies because of the
way it works,” he says. “For example, when a driver is working
on the inside of the body, he lowers the lift and is surrounded by three
sides so he can’t get hurt. Plus, it rides perfectly level at all
times. There are no pins to wear out, and it has two moving parts, which
will last almost forever.”
Safety has been a pivotal net result of the Slick Lift
system, Wroblewski says. “The delivery system has a perimeter safety
tape switch that, when activated, causes the floor to lower automatically
to prevent personal or cargo damage,” he says. “We heard from
one dairy customer who has been utilizing this system for almost three
years now, and workers-comp claims have been reduced by 85 percent. We have
even had calls from insurance companies asking about it.”
Keeping Their Cool
Because of the high costs associated with breakdowns
in the hauling of perishable dairy products, proper cooling systems are a
key concern for buyers. The two main types of temperature controls for
trucks and trailers — cold plate and refrigeration units — have
undergone fine-tuning in recent times.
Cold plates are considered the venerable system, used
in dairy transport for decades. Although it is older technology, plate
manufacturers have made adjustments to reflect the needs of changing
customers. Dole Refrigerating Co., for example, has focused on durability.
“The biggest thing people ask about plates is the maintenance aspect.
The reality is that plates may not be as flexible as mechanical systems,
but they are more reliable,” Cook says. “With cold plates, you
even have people who take them off and move them to another chassis —
they are that dependable.”
For its dairy customers, Dole recommends its
Econ-Cel system, which features a new brushless motor. “People
said they liked that fan and we are ordering more units,” Cook says.
Meanwhile, dairies that employ mechanical
refrigeration units can take note of recent advancements in those systems
as well. Thermo King, for example, has developed new SB-110 trailer
refrigeration units that feature new SR-2 controllers. “The
controller was designed to make it easier for drivers to operate and enable
plug and play telematic technology for documenting food temperature,”
Lenz says. “The SR-2 controller also is multi-lingual to address the
changes we are seeing relative to the background of the new
drivers.”
According to Lenz, the SB-110 can be equipped with
electronic throttle valve technology that provides additional temperature
control and fuel savings and each unit comes standard with Thermo Gard
Bronze protection.
Although dairies are faced with countless other
prospects for investments, reefer-technology suppliers note that this is an
industry that recognizes the importance of successful transportation.
“Dairies continue to refine what they do. More and more, they want to
get their name out there and also, because they know if they mess up, a lot
of kids can get sick,” says Caddick, who adds that such a keen
understanding is evident across the board. “I’m constantly
impressed because when you talk to some foodservice drivers, the only thing
they know is where they are going that day, but when you talk to dairy
people, they know about all aspects of their operation.”
Lynn Petrak is a freelance journalist based in the
Chicago area.
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