Wholesalers and regional distributors
Many customers, partial loads and a route where every drop is a different temperature.
A regional distributor rarely carries one thing. A single round can hold frozen boxes for a restaurant, chilled deli for a shop and dry goods for a canteen - and the truck that solves all three at once is usually the one that solves none of them well.
Partial loads are the norm here
Wholesale rounds are built from small consignments. In a refrigerated body the cooling works for the whole volume regardless of how much cold freight is aboard, so the cost per case rises as the cold share falls. With containers only the loaded box is cooled and the rest of the vehicle stays available for dry business.
Three regimes on one route
The regulation asks that different foods carried together are adequately separated. Separate containers provide that separation physically and let each box run its own regime, which removes the need for a compartmented body and lets the route be planned by geography rather than by temperature.
The container pool
The practical constraint in wholesale is not the vehicle but the rotation: how many boxes are on the road, how many are being washed and how many plate sets are in the freezing rack. A pool sized to the number of rounds - one set out, one set in preparation - is what keeps the second round of the day possible.
Equipment
GEBHARDT Isotec TBX containers in mixed sizes, eutectic plates in the regimes your customers need, freezing racks scaled to daily plate turnover, roll containers for handling and Suer lashing equipment to secure the load. Send us your round profile - customers per trip, cold share, regimes - and we will size the pool with you.
Frequently asked questions
How are three different temperatures carried on one route?
By making the regime a property of the box. One box is prepared frozen, another chilled, and dry goods ride in the rest of the vehicle - no compartmented body required. The regulation asks for adequate separation when different foods travel together, and separate boxes provide it.
How many containers does a pool start with?
The count follows rounds, not drops: while one set is on the road another has to be in preparation. For a distributor running two rounds a day the practical starting point is one set more than a single round needs. Tell us your round count and we will size the pool with you.
What is used for two cases going to a small customer?
For small drops an EPP thermobox, and as volume grows a wheeled container. The box is pre-cooled with a plate and travels shut, leaving the rest of the vehicle for dry goods.