UK-based trailer builder, Tiger Trailers, has designed and built 57 new rigid bodies for baking and flour milling business, Hovis.
This new order will reportedly increase the number of Tiger-built assets in the Hovis fleet to 87 rigids and 14 double-deck trailers.
Hovis reportedly produces 1.3 million loaves a day for delivery across the UK, relying on the efficiency of its delivery fleet to meet demand. Tiger has said that it designed the new rigid bodies to be as lightweight as possible in order to maximise payload capacity – for 7.5 tonne vehicles, it was able to return a payload of 3,200kg.
“Getting maximum payload from these vehicles was vitally important to us,” said Hovis Head of Logistics Operations Support, Tony Stuart. “Tiger has worked hard to find ways of giving us that extra capacity; this enables us to carry more loaves per vehicle and make fewer journeys – which brings both operational and environmental benefits.”
According to Tiger, the rigid bodies were built with aluminium bearers and chassis runners, with the panels constructed from an ultra-lightweight honeycomb composite as part of the weight-saving design. For Hovis, this included the addition of treadplate floors to facilitate easier loading and unloading of bread baskets, as well as Aztec weighing equipment over the rear axle to ensure the maximum payload was never exceeded.
The new rigids will be in operation across the UK, making store deliveries six days a week. As one of the UK’s most recognisable brands, Hovis employees close to 3,200 people across eight bakeries, four flour mills and three distribution centres.
In August, UK sporting goods retailer, Sports Direct, was in the process of taking delivery of nine new specialist drawbar rigs from Tiger Trailers.