Bowyers specify Petter refrigeration
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Every weekday before noon, pigs are slaughtered in Trowbridge. By 7 a.m. the next morning they are on sale in retail shops as sausages and pies. That is how quickly the modern meat processor works and in particular Bowyers (Wiltshire) Ltd.
Efficient distribution is recognised as a major reason for success by this company, which originated from a small bacon curing business established in 18o8. "There is little point in demanding top quality from the farmer and factory if it is all going to be lost by the time the housewife takes it home" said a company spokesman.
Bowyers rely on a two stage distribution system. Every evening a fleet of 'quaker? leave each of the three factories. Travelling through the night they supply a network of area depots, each equipped with its own fleet of sales/delivery vans. These vehicles are then loaded at around six each morning, and deliver direct to retail and catering outlets.
The company first installed Petter mechanical refrigeration units for their `trunker' fleet nine years ago and has continued with this system with extremely good results.
Earlier this year, Bowyers unveiled a new corporate identity which included a brown and white livery for their vehicles to replace the old familiar signature motif over red and cream. One of the reasons for this change was to establish the name more vividly in a business where colour and images are curiously standardised. W. G. Payne, Bowyers group transport manager, is justly proud of his fleet, particularly in their new distinctive colours. Eighteen of the Bowyers trunkers have Petter cooling systems, using PA, HPA, HM and PKW units.
The HPA and HM units are overcab mounted, as are the PA and PKW models, but are powered hydraulically from the vehicle's engine via a powertake-off. They also have provision for 3-phase 44o volt electric drive, a facility that Bowyers make full use of with their newly-constructed loading bays.
The `trunkers' cover an average of zoo miles per night, six times a week; each with a perishable cargo. A mechanical break-down of the refrigeration could be disastrous, but to quote Mr. Payne "The Petter Service Division does you proud. At no time, due to unit failure has a Petter cooled Bowyers vehicle broken down, been off the road, or suffered a damaged cargo".
Petter transport refrigeration units are built by Petters Ltd., a Hawker Siddeley Company.
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