Bakery Warburtons has added six dual-fuel Mercedes-Benz Axor tractor units to its fleet.
Engine conversion specialist Hardstaff carried out modifications – supported by Mercedes-Benz – to allow them to run on both diesel and compressed natural gas.
20 of its 100 tractor units already run on compressed natural gas, and the company has its own gas storage and filling facilities.
Transport manager Mark Sutcliffe said: “We’re committed to gas for environmental reasons – it’s a clean fuel that helps us to reduce our emissions and so meet our own carbon management and corporate social responsibility targets. But the trucks also had to make financial sense for our business, and a dependable warranty is a key part of that equation.”
The new trucks are now working across the country, distributing the nation’s daily bread between Warburtons’ 14 bakeries and 13 satellite sites. Double-shifted, they are operating seven days per week and will average 100,000 miles per year.
The Axors are the first vehicles with Warburtons’ new orange livery and work with a fleet of single- and double-decked Gray & Adams trailers.
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The trucks are under a seven-year contract hire agreement with Mercedes-Benz CharterWay. The trucks were supplied by Birmingham dealer Midlands Truck & Van.
