Finnish retailer K Group has announced it will extend its trial of high capacity transport (HCT) trucks in order to improve food transport efficiency and reduce emissions.
The retailer began piloting HCT trucks in 2015 when it introduced a 34-metre truck to transport food between Kempele and Vantaa.
The pilot aimed at finding new solutions to reduce emissions from logistics, cut the number of vehicles in road transport and improve the efficiency of transporting goods.
As an extension of the successful pilot, the retailer will add two new 31-metre HCT trucks, with one beginning to operate between Turku and Vantaa and another vehicle of the same size operating in Ostrobothnia.
There are currently 43 HCT trucks operating on Finnish roads, three of which now belong to K Group.
Higher Capacity
The new trucks can carry up to 30% more goods and have been sized so that they can deliver food directly to K-Citymarket stores, in addition to their transports between the terminal and central warehouse
“Our experiences with our first HCT truck have been excellent,” said Jussi Hytönen, logistics manager for K Group Logistics. “Both the transport and emission costs have been reduced and the pilot has demonstrated that large units can also be used to operate safely and reliably throughout the year in Finland’s varying conditions.”
“With two new HCT trucks, we are able to further reduce emissions and improve the efficiency of long-distance transports,” Hytönen added.
Tractor Specifications
The tractors of the trucks are produced by the firm MAN. Their MAN TGXs were selected by K Group and have been configured to have appropriate dimensions, power trains and equipment to meet the requirements of HCT combinations.
Their 580-horsepower D38-type motors have high torque in a very wide rpm range, according to the retail group.
“When peak torque (2,900 Nm) is reached already at 900 rpm, fuel consumption and the environmental load remain low,” said Olli Ronkainen, MAN business director at VV-Auto Group. “Even though the trucks have four axles and are both wide and relatively long, the steering rear axle guarantees agility of the vehicle.”
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Kevin Duggan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
