A mixed order is the norm in distribution: the branch wants dry cartons, dairy and a few cases of frozen goods. The problem is not the products but the way all three go into one vehicle.
Compartment or container
In a multi-compartment refrigerated body the regimes are separated by a movable bulkhead and the air fed to that compartment. It works, but the volume has to be divided in advance: one day the frozen share grows and the bulkhead does not, the next day the chilled share grows and the other side travels empty. The body itself no longer goes back easily to dry work.
With containers the separation is physical. Each box carries its own cold inside and is unaffected by its neighbour. When the route changes, the number of containers changes; the vehicle and the body stay as they are.
Setting up a regime per container
- The order is split by regime: dry cartons, chilled goods, frozen goods.
- Containers are prepared the evening before; plates freeze on the rack to their regime.
- In the morning each container is loaded with its own plates and the lid is closed.
- Containers and dry goods are stacked into the same body.
- The delivery order is set so the frozen container is opened last and least.
- On return the containers are prepared again at the depot and the plates freeze overnight.
| Load type | Target temperature | Where it travels |
|---|---|---|
| Dry cartons, packaged dry food | ambient | rest of the body |
| Dairy, delicatessen, chilled goods | 0…+2 °C | container on the chilled regime |
| Frozen goods | -18 °C and below | container on the deep-freeze regime |
What changes on the route
- the second run disappears: three regimes travel in one round
- the argument about compartment volume ends; the number of containers absorbs the daily mix
- the vehicle can go back to dry work, since nothing permanent is fitted to the body
- what leaves through the open door is the body air, not the cold around the goods
How it is set up
The Isotec TBX comes in nine sizes from 410 to 1500 litres, with the chilled and the frozen regime inside the same programme. Plates are prepared to their regime, the freezing rack takes them down to the core and the rails hold the plate under the container ceiling. Send us the regime split of your daily mixed order and we will work out how many containers and which sizes you need.
