Kitchen and joinery product supplier Howdens is to refurbish half its trailer fleet and put nine new gas-powered tractor units on the road as part of a sustainability drive.
TIP Group will renovate around 400 existing Howdens’ tri-axle curtainsided trailers over the next 10 months, extending their working life for a further 10 years.
Each trailer will be stripped, the chassis and superstructure shotblasted, before being repainted and fitted out with new strapping, curtains and TIP’s telematics system TIP Insight.
Putting nine new Volvo liquid natural gas (LNG) tractor units on the fleet ‘further emphasises Howdens’ commitment to reducing its carbon footprint with LNG vehicles lowering emissions compared to their diesel counterparts’, explained Howdens head of transport Gareth Sterland.
Cost as well as the CO2 from the new trailer production counter Howdens’ sustainability commitment, the company said. Refurbishment of existing trailers instead of building new ones would approximately save 3.9 tonnes of CO2 emissions per trailer.
He said: “It is our responsibility to future proof the transport side of our business in the most efficient and safe way we can, and this is a fantastic method of doing so.
“The support we are receiving from TIP makes this project possible and we look forward to completion of the programme and to continuing our partnership.”
