Cartwright recognised for innovation

UK-based trailer builder, Cartwright Group, is celebrating success after winning the ‘Most Innovative Product of the Year’ accolade at the FTA Logistics Awards 2017.

The judging panel at the supply chain event, held 13 December 2017 at the InterContinental London Park Lane, described Cartwright's Streetwise semi-trailer as a ‘class leader’, according to Cartwright. The Streetwise concept was devised by Cartwright’s engineering team under the leadership of Cartwright’s Technical Director, Lionel Curtis, to address some of the problems facing urban delivery.

“One of the major contributors to urban congestion is retail delivery, with vehicles unloading goods in a busy high street location,” Cartwright said in a statement.

“Lionel and his team looked at ways to address this issue, starting by designing the vehicle to lower its moving deck to ground level for ease of loading and unloading. In addition to this, the Streetwise range has side doors on either side of the trailer so that operators have a choice on how to unload goods at pavement or road level. This makes it ideal for urban multi-drop operations, improving productivity and reducing costs via increased speed of unloading.

“Streetwise also retains the ability to allow conventional rear loading through the conventional insulated shutter at loading dock height. The range is available in varying lengths from 8m to 12m, single or tandem axle and is offered in dry freight or single or multi temperature designs.  All types of refrigeration can be specified including liquid nitrogen if required. Streetwise offers the customer multiple benefits. Not only does it minimise distribution costs, it also reduces the potential health and safety concerns of drivers unloading using a tail lift where street side access is not available,” said Cartwright.

Curtis said that the Streetwise brings a fresh look to urban deliveries, delivering multiple benefits, but the build process, however, was not without its challenges.

“From an engineering perspective it was complex due to the configuration of the vehicle and from drawing board to customer handover,” said Curtis. “It took a good eighteen months to complete. We are very pleased with what we have achieved with Streetwise. Winning this award is a tremendous accolade for the product itself and well-earned recognition for the engineering department as a whole.”

(Image L-R: Alistair McGowan, Cartwright Group Technical Director, Lionel Curtis, ASB Law Head of Dispute Resolution, Jonathan Stevens, and Freight Transport Association Chief Executive, David Wells.)

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