Kent Frozen Foods (KFF) has taken delivery of 31 new IVECOs - 13 Eurocargo and 18 Daily as it continues its 25-year relationship with the brand, which is expertly managed by partner Kent dealer, Haynes Trucks.

The national food service company now runs a solus IVECO fleet of 80 commercial vehicles which are based out of its Aylesford headquarters in Kent and regional depot in Witney, Oxfordshire.

The 13 new 12-tonne Eurocargo ML120E25s main roles will be as an urban workhorse delivering chilled and frozen food to cafes, restaurants and takeaways in London where manoeuvrability is key and where access can be a challenge. The Eurocargo MLC Day Cab is just 2.1 metres wide which makes it perfect for operating in urban areas as KFF’s distribution manager Jason Windle explains:

“The 12-tonne is the perfect multi-drop urban delivery truck. It’s got a good turning circle and drivers like them as they easily take them into places where access is very challenging. The Eurocargo is the perfect size as we rarely work to the truck’s full payload, instead its more about optimising load cube on each journey.

KFF opted for the Eurocargo fitted with the Euro VI-d-compliant 250-horsepower 6.7-litre Tector 7 engine which copes well with its predominantly urban work. Solomon Commercials fit each truck with a twin chamber frozen and chilled box body on the 4815mm wheelbase chassis cab complete with a 1,500kg Dhollandia tuckaway tail lift and Frigoblock refrigeration unit.

Eurocargo features IVECO’s innovative, lightweight and patented HI-SCR passive diesel particulate filtration system which unlike anything else in its market segment does away with the need for parked or forced regeneration. This means that zero time is wasted on busy delivery routes with extra weight-savings boosting payload capacity.

Health and safety and compliance are big priorities for KFF, particularly when working in London so each Eurocargo is fitted with seven external cameras, one internal camera, a Verizon tracking unit and Hi-Viz red seatbelts. Each Daily also gains the same equipment, plus the electronic parking brake, which reduces repetitive movements for the driver.

While the new Eurocargos are tackling the streets of London the fleet of 18 new 3.5 tonne Daily box vans manage the longer distance delivery work, serving customers as far afield as Manchester in the north and Plymouth in the south west.

The 35S12 Daily 3450mm wheelbase single rear wheel chassis cab is fitted with the 120hp 2.3-litre F1A Euro 6D diesel coupled to a manual six-speed transmission. They are specified with a single passenger seat, replacing the usual bench, as payload is an especially important consideration. Even with its Solomon Commercials twin chamber fridge and chilled body it can swallow nearly 900kg of payload and for the majority of times it leaves the depot working at maximum payload.

“Because of the inherent strength of Daily, they work at maximum payload on the outwork leg of their journeys. We take them down to the weighbridge to ensure that with a driver and full tank of fuel the vehicle is compliant but working at its optimum weight,”

“We’ve looked at the heavier Daily, but we wanted to stay under the 3.5 tonnes GVW to manage longer trips without the restriction of a tachograph,” added Windle.

The replacement profile for both vehicles reflects their working patterns with the Eurocargo being renewed every eight years and around half a million kilometres, while the Daily’s five-year life on fleet will see them cover in the region of 400,000km.

Peace of mind comes for KFF in the form of IVECO’s comprehensive Elements 3XL Repair & Maintenance (R&M) package which is delivered with five-star service by Haynes Trucks and ably supported at the Witney depot by M&M Commercials. 3XL covers the MAINTENANCE (standard vehicle servicing), DRIVE LINE (engine, injection, gearbox, axles), EXTRA DRIVE LINE (electrical systems) as well as WEAR (brakes, wipers and bulbs).

“The reason for our long-term relationship is that Haynes’ service has been second to none. They supply us with one of their technicians each night and he manages any smaller problems on site to help keep our fleet on the road. For anything major he will take the vehicle to Haynes’ Maidstone site and work on it so it’s ready for to go the next morning. He is first class and treats the vehicles like his own which has meant our Vehicle Off the Road rates are very low,” explained Windle.

“The R&M package is very valuable as it helps us with budgeting and leaves us just with tyres, insurance and fuel to worry about. All other aspects of the vehicle are covered by Haynes,” he added.

The IVECO Daily is the most versatile vehicle in its segment, stretching from 3.5-tonne to a 7.2-tonne GVW. Power comes from two strong diesel engines. Both the 2.3-litre F1A and 3.0-litre F1C diesel range is Euro 6D compliant and available with either a 6-speed manual or automatic 8-speed HI-MATIC.

Eurocargo is the truck the city likes, with a range stretching from nimble 6.5-tonners up to a versatile 18t GVW. Eurocargo is available with a range of four and six-cylinder engines from the Tector line-up, producing 160 to 320-horsepower. Manual or automated transmissions are offered, and IVECO’s exclusive and patented HI-SCR exhaust system ensures maximum vehicle efficiency. With 11,000 configurations, there’s a Eurocargo for any and every mission.

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