UK – Fraikin, a leading European company specialising in the industrial and commercial rental of vehicles, has placed an order with Carrier Transicold to supply refrigeration units for more than 30 new temperature-controlled vehicles in its fleet as part of a wider £13m rental fleet investment made this year. The deal, which was announced on Thursday, saw Fraikin order 20 Carrier Transicold Xarios 200, 300 and 500 systems, as well as 11 multi-temperature Supra 750 MT and 1150 MT units.

The company announced that the Xarios 200 and 300 units will be fitted to Mercedes-Benz Sprinter light commercial vehicles, while the more powerful Xarios 500 systems are set to be fitted to Iveco Eurocargo rigid trucks. Fraikin also revealed that the Supra 750 MT and 1150 MT systems had been chosen for a combination of Eurocargo, DAF LF and CF rigids, in an effort to highlight the full range of Fraikin’s temperature-controlled rental assets. It was also revealed that Solomon Commercials had been hired to construct the refrigerated bodies for the entire Fraikin order.

Commenting on the deal, Mark Newnes, the operations director with Fraikin, stated that “The key to ensuring high rental asset utilisation is investing in the most hireable vehicles in the first place. Most of our customers are already familiar with Carrier Transicold units and trust them to protect the cold chain and deliver a hassle-free rental experience. The breadth of performance offered by the Xarios and Supra systems allows us to ensure we have a solution for just about any light commercial vehicle or rigid truck application. Plus we have confidence from our experience of working closely with Carrier that the units will be cost-effective for our customers to operate, whilst having as little environmental impact as possible.”

Carrier claim that their Xarios range features units with cooling and heating abilities ranging from -20°C to +30°C, suitable for use in vehicles with box volumes of 8-40m³. The company stated that the most powerful unit ordered by Fraikin, the Xarios 500, offers airflow of 1,450 m³/h, while still maintaining a low noise level.

In the case of larger rigid trucks, Carrier suggested that their Supra refrigeration systems are suitable for intensive distribution environments with multiple door openings – an area of increasing demand for Fraikin. Fraikin hope that the long service intervals that Carrier have promised to deliver will mean that they can keep their fleet on the road for longer in between scheduled service, thereby improving uptime.

Fraikin stated that their 2015 rental order represents the largest annual investment in its hire fleet for a decade, with 216 dry freight and temperature-controlled vehicles entering service at Fraikin branches nationwide this year, making it one of the most comprehensive and modern rental fleets currently available.