26 Oct Building innovation for Bidfood NL
Bidfood Netherlands (Bidfood NL) has been a Gray & Adams client for almost 12 years and its fleet is now made up of 99% Gray & Adams rigids and trailers.
Due to its diverse range of products, Bidfood NL required up to four different temperature zones; frozen, 2 x chilled and ambient, with each zone being able to reach the correct temperature due to the different produce being carried.
Another brief to Gray & Adams was no different, Bidfood NL required four cages across the rigid to ensure maximum capacity, more efficient deliveries and less driver or rigid downtime.
In order to get the four cages within the width of the rigid, new materials were required to make the exceptionally thin internal walls. These were refined and developed via precision engineering over time to create the perfect internal layout and capacity.
The Bidfood NL rigid was also the very first in the UK to feature a Carrier Vector trailer fridge within a rigid, rather than a typical over cab, engine driven fridge. The body was equipped with extended sidewalls to hide the Vector fridge and provide maximum aerodynamics in combination with air deflectors.
This was a challenging innovation but one that has ensured a better overall performance of the vehicle and an increase in thermal capacity. With deliveries for up to 25 customers per day, it is vital that temperatures are maintained despite multiple door openings throughout the day.
Gray & Adams has built a solid reputation over the past 60 years for delivering outstanding quality across all its products and this rigid is no different. With a bold ambition, our Bidfood NL rigid has a 10-year lifecycle compared to around 8 years for a standard rigid. Therefore delivering exceptional return on investment.
“Gray & Adams have provided high quality craftsmanship to make the body last for at least 10 years without problems.” – Jan Willem Gosseling Fleet Manager, Bidfood
From the exceptional build quality of our refrigerated rigids, through to the quality of our people and service we have built a solid relationship with Bidfood Netherlands and our products now making up almost 100% of its fleet.
In addition, Gray & Adams are independently certified to ISO9001:2015 (Quality Management), ISO14001:2015 (Environmental Management) and OHSAS18001:2007 (Health and Safety Management). Combined, these standards form the basis of our policies and processes, ensuring high standards, continuous improvement of products and services, maintaining customer focus, meeting our environmental responsibilities and ensuring the health and safety of our employees.
We are assessed by BSI every six months to confirm that our integrated management system is increasingly effective. We execute our internal audit plan and monitor key performance indicators ensuring that we achieve our strategic goals.
We guarantee the quality of our supply chain by carefully assessing suppliers and monitoring supplier’s performance in accordance with ISO9001:2015, ensuring we partner only with reliable suppliers.
We offer our customers peace of mind that their fleet has been made by the best commercial vehicle manufacturer applying unrivalled technology, supreme build quality and industry leading aftercare to ensure that their products are transported efficiently and with maximum care.
“Very important to Bidfood is the aftersales. If there is a problem, the water between UK and the Netherlands has never been a problem. They provide direct communication, people were sent over or Gray & Adams found a local partner to help us out.” – Jan Willem Gosseling Fleet Manager, Bidfood