Prolific Paneltex keeps its cool
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by Steve Banner • Supermarket giant Asda has placed another order for refrigerated semi-trailers with Paneltex, and its managing director, Chris Berridge, is a happy man. "We've worked with Asda on a lot of projects over the years, and it already has 35 of our trailers, running out of Bristol," he says.
Based in a former crane factory near Hull docks, the company's 100 staff are turning out an average of eight temperature-controlled bodies of various descriptions a week.
"It can vary between six and 10, depending on how complicated they are," he says.
"Last year we did a lot of specialised work."
Period of consolidation
Berridge and technical director Paul Poulton founded Paneltex in 1991 to make insulated panels—they still supply some to third-party customers. Paneltex progressed to building portable cold stores and, with both men having backgrounds in bodybuilding, went on to make reefer bodies, By 1994 Paneltex had acquired the rights to the designs and trading name of Midlands bodybuilder Wilsdon and, more recently, it bought CSC Specialised Vehicles.
"It used to be known as Coventry Steel Caravans, and we bought it when Massey International Coachbuilders, the previous owner, closed down," Berridge says. "As a result of these acquisitions the past 18 months have been a period of consolidation for us."
Berridge does not rule out further purchases. "But we've no great aspirations to become enormous," he says.
CSC makes specialised bodywork encompassing everything from mobile mammography units to military communica tions vehicles. "Some of it is lightweight stuff, which means it's air-transportable," he says. "We've built well over 100 bodies for the Ministry of Defence."
Running at 32 tonnes, the 13.6m tandem-axle Asda semitrailers are fitted with Carrier's Genesis refrigeration system. All dual-temperature, with movable bulkheads, they come with twin evaporators.
Paneltex has developed a close relationship with SDC. It recently built a temperaturecontrolled semi-trailer body fitted with quiet-running Thermo King Whisper Edition SMX refrigeration on an SDC triaxle chassis equipped with disc brakes. "It's an ATP Class C body produced to rental fleet specifications," says Berridge. The rigid sector is not overlooked. "We're building a lot of bodies on 17 and 26-tonners, including some dual temperature ones," Berridge adds.
At the lower end of the weight scale, Paneltex has developed a lightweight reefer box for 3.5-tonner chassis aimed at supermarkets wanting to offer a home delivery service.
Fitted with a Thermo King V250 unit, fridge-type rear doors, and moulded side skirts, it can offer full deep-freeze or dual-temperature capability. In deep-freeze mode it offers a 1,200kg payload but, in the other role, the side door and the movable bulkhead reduce the carrying capacity to 1,100kg.
"It offers a flat floor and a square interior," Berridge says. "We use GRP panels with a Styrofoam core, and with 14 captive bolts holding it to the chassis, it's a piece of cake to remove and remount."
Price? About £9,000, depending on the specifications, plus the cost of the chassis.
"We did a lot of market research in this area, and it is clear that, while domestic consumers don't want lorries coming down the street, they don't mind vans," says Berridge.
"They reckon vans are friendly. They remind them of the oldfashioned baker or fishmonger."
Berridge is prepared to be flexible on guarantees. "Subject to certain maintenance and damage repair undertakings by the customer, and depending on the application, we're willing to offer up to 10 years," he says. "We've just done a deal with an operator involving two bodies which will be covering 1.2 million miles over the next six years on three chassis apiece."
Paneitex still builds cold stores, and the acquisition of major customer Portable Cold Storage by rental giant Dawsons has done no harm to its fortunes. "We've already built some I7-tonne bodies for them," he says.
Paneltex also owns Associated Plastic Components, which makes mouldings for bay windows installed in domestic houses. It refurbishes trailers and cold stores, and repairs shipping containers too.
Now looking at a £6m turnover, Berridge and his colleagues are on a roll. But there are one or two things that have not gone as well as they had hoped. They can offer high-lift airline catering bodies, but have not supplied any for some time. "It's a limited market though, and not something we've pushed," Berridge says.
Strength of sterling
Looking ahead, he is worried that next year may not be as healthy. "I'm approaching 1999 with some caution, and I'd like to know what impact the Euro is going to have on the UK economy," he says.
As things stand, the continuing strength of sterling is hitting his export sales.
"We do some business in the Middle East, but we're not doing as much export work as we did a few years back," he says.
"And imports have become that much more competitive."
Berridge concludes: "On balance, we are having a good year at the moment. Things are quite buoyant."