CLAYSBURG, Pa. -- A customized delivery fleet of 52 Thermo King multi-temperature Sprinter vans is saving Sheetz Inc. more than 148,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually compared to conventional box delivery solutions. It also earned the retailer Thermo King's Energy Efficiency Leader Award in recognition of its efforts to increase the company's environmentally sound practices--the first convenience store chain to be so honored.
This distribution method is one example of Sheetz's commitment to sustainability and energy and operational efficiency. The Sheetz Sprinter van fleet travels 5.6 million miles a year, making 160,000 deliveries.
Ray Pittard, president of Thermo King North America, presented the award to Stan Sheetz, president and CEO of Sheetz Inc., on Wednesday at the Sheetz Center for Shwellness in Claysburg, Pa.
One of the customized Sprinter vans was on site at the awards presentation.
Sheetz added the vans to its larger fleet in 2012 to support distribution of baked goods from its Sheetz Bros. kitchen bakery and commissary. This facility was designed to increase efficiency and variety of products for customers at all Sheetz locations. The company wanted to ensure availability of its menu and to deliver on its customer-service promise.
The vans provide the precise multi-temperature delivery conditions needed to ensure product freshness and maintain shelf life for deliveries to the more than 450 Sheetz locations spread across Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
"Delivering fresh products to every single Sheetz location every single day is a critical piece of our operations," said Stan Sheetz. "We have to make sure to meet our quality standards with each delivery. We're pleased that Thermo King has provided us with a temperature precision solution to meet these standards while also saving money and minimally impacting the environment."
Sheetz leaders; Thermo King; Thermo King of Pittsburgh, the local dealer; and Arctic Vans collaborated to develop a solution that incorporated a multi-temperature refrigeration unit with electric standby, custom air distribution and an auxiliary Espar heating system. The heating unit delivers temperature recovery in extreme cold conditions and the electric standby option enables the unit to be plugged while loaded at the distribution center, which the company said saves more than 85,000 gallons of fuel each year.
The refrigeration units increase distribution efficiency and flexibility by allowing multi-temperature transport. Designed to provide the capacities needed for smaller trucks and vans, the refrigeration units allow controlled temperature settings for dual-temperature zone transportation. The configuration is adjustable--it can be fresh-fresh, fresh-frozen, frozen-fresh or frozen-frozen.
The refrigeration unit also provides an environmentally-sound transport refrigeration choice suitable for metropolitan deliveries, since it is powered by the vehicle rather than an additional diesel engine. The Sheetz fleet of heavy-duty trucks also features multi-temperature refrigeration units with door sensors designed to maximize energy and operational efficiency.
Minneapolis-based Thermo King, a business unit of diversified industrial firm Ingersoll Rand Co. Ltd. manufactures transport temperature control systems for a variety of mobile applications, including trailers, truck bodies, buses, shipboard containers and railway cars. The company operates 10 manufacturing facilities and 17 parts distribution centers worldwide. Sales and service is provided by a global dealer network of 865 independently owned companies in 75 countries.
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