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lig savings for Argos
Page 13
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Fuel savings of up to 26% being achieved by Exel gistics with two rodynamically-finished box as on contract to Argos, the count store chain.
The two 17-tonne Leyland I Freighters are fitted with a I aerodynamic package, deloped by design engineering 71 Ricardo in association with Government's Energy Effincy Office, and fitted by sco Bodies of Northampton. Ricardo's managing director thony Smallhorn estimates it operators would save a al of 2100 million annually in .d costs if all 17-tanners were ,en the same aerodynamic :atment.
Smallhom says his company now working on an aerodymic design for a closeapted drawbar vehicle, which ald provide the industry with urther 2100 million in say Skelmersdale-based bodyilding supplier W L Cunliffe s taken out a licence to mufacture patented items 1m the Argos Freighter's rodynamic kit. Other mann:turers are expected to folv suit.
Development work is under ly to fit a similar package to lveco Ford Cargo and the :nault Midliner. Exel Logistics has operated the two aerodynamic Freighters on carefully monitored 25week trials from depots at Castleford in Yorkshire and Penkridge in Staffordshire. Each has been run alongside a standard box van of a similar specification.
Drivers were rotated between the vehicles which operated on urban and motorway work, usually at a gross weight of 10 tonnes. However, there have been a number of catalogue deliveries when the vehicles operated at 17 tonnes.
The Castleford aerodynamic truck averaged 20.651it/100km (13.68mpg) as against 25.311it/ 1001cm (11.16mpg) for the standard truck. Equivalent figures at Penkridge were 20.37k/100km (13.87mpg) and 25. 65lit/1001cm (11. 02mpg).
Don Wilson, managing director of Besco, says the aerodynamic kit currently costs around 22,000.
o Exel Logistics estimates that the aerodynamic package fitted to all its 200 rigids would produce fuel savings of 826,563 litres (181,818 gallons) annually. Given a price of around 28p per litre for diesel (21.27 per gallon), this would product a saving of £230,908 per year over the fleet, with a payback time for the aerodynamic equipment of just under two years.