Glasgow-based Lomond: The Wholesale Food Co has introduced new hybrid vehicles to its fleet.
The 20 new 7.5 tonne hybrid refrigeration vehicles also feature the new Lomond livery. The new design, which states ‘Always leading, never following’, was inspired by feedback from a long-standing customer.
Barbara Henderson, company director, said: “While the government monitors carbon emissions from vehicles, they don’t monitor emissions from refrigeration, which is actually six times more polluting than the category six engines.
“We have taken out the red diesel engine and fitted a battery so we now have vehicles where the refrigeration is powered by electricity rather than red diesel. In addition to dramatically reducing pollution, this also strips out weight which means we can carry an additional 1.3 ton of stock per vehicle, leading to increased efficiency in our business and less vehicles on the road.”
The wholesaler has also introduced electric company cars for its field sales team. All team members have electric chargers fitted to their homes and Lomond directors, Sam and Barbara Henderson, also drive electric vehicles.
In addition, Lomond has taken delivery of a fully electric van to be used in the local area.
Henderson added: “We are firmly committed to doing the best we can to reduce our carbon footprint and ensure we take decisions that reduce our impact on the environment, and our vehicles are a major element of this.
“We also take measures within our depot, such as fitting an air curtain to reduce energy wastage and carrying out heat surveys to ensure energy efficiency.”
