Drink Logistics: Culina’s special birthday present

As transport industry success stories go, Culina Logistics’ takes some beating. The shared-user food and drink logistics specialist started life as recently as 1994, from a single chilled warehouse. Fast forward a couple of decades and Culina is now a UK market leader, with a £230-million annual turnover and a portfolio of 170 customers, which it serves from headquarters in Market Drayton, Shropshire, and a network of 15 chilled and ambient sites.

While much has changed over those 20 years, one factor has remained constant: Culina’s commitment to Mercedes-Benz. The three-pointed star has been ever-present since the outset and is worn today by approximately half of the company’s 350 trucks.

The fleet is dominated by the top-weight tractor units that trunk between depots holding a combined total of 245 000 pallets, and the regional distribution centres of Britain’s biggest retailers. Culina’s efficiency in consolidating loads to achieve an average vehicle fill of over 90%, and making up to 97% of deliveries on-time, earned it the prestigious Temperature Controlled Operator of the Year accolade at the Motor Transport Awards 2014. Judges also praised Culina’s willingness to try new ideas. The company’s ‘20:20’ project was launched to mark its anniversary and brings together a range of initiatives that include involvement in food waste reduction and waste/packaging recycling schemes, the use of low-energy lights on sensors in its warehouses, and a trial based on rail deliveries to Scotland.

Unsurprisingly, the focus on innovation extends to Culina’s transport operation. Its trailer fleet includes both variants (14.6 metres and 15.65 metres) of longer semi-trailer, short urban trailers that have replaced rigid vehicles, and dual-purpose, insulated curtainsiders with fridge plants, used for ambient deliveries and chilled collections, thereby eliminating empty running.

Culina’s commitment to efficiency and environmental compatibility also explains why its first Euro VI tractor units – 37 Mercedes-Benz Actros 2545s – are being specified with optional Predictive Powertrain Control (PPC) systems. A clever cruise control that “sees” the road ahead, PPC employs 3D GPS mapping to read three kilometres of topography then responds by controlling speed, braking and transmission to maximise fuel efficiency.

“We trialled a demonstration unit fitted with Predictive Powertrain Control and were very impressed,” recalls Group Fleet Manager Mark Matkin. “Driver feedback was entirely positive and the system really seems to come into its own when the vehicle is travelling up or down hills.”

The new trucks have BigSpace cabs and 330 kW (449 hp) straight-six engines. All will be on the road by the end of the year, with inspections and servicing carried out under Mercedes-Benz Repair and Maintenance Contracts by the most conveniently located official Dealers.

“We’ve been running 72 Actros at Euro V and they’re great,” confirms Matkin. “The cabs are very comfortable and they were also the most fuel-efficient vehicles on the fleet… until we started running the Euro VI versions. If anything our latest Actros are even better, which must be due, at least in part, to the PPC systems.”

www.culina.co.uk

Photos: Impact