MHW Magazine News and stories from the Materials Handling Industry
Leading bodybuilder Paneltex has recently successfully completed a 48-hour day/night product demonstration event at New Covent Garden Market in central London, which instantly resulted in a two-vehicle order for refrigerated box bodies from one visitor to the event.
Over a two-day period in December, Paneltex organised a product exhibition during the night on both days, where market companies were invited to view the company’s refrigerated vehicle body range for 2012. During the day, Paneltex ran a specific ‘ride and drive’ programme based on its Zeroed electric vehicle product range, using a 6.2 t Isuzu demonstration vehicle to show the operational and payload benefits of the Zeroed electric vehicle range.
With over 200 businesses on site at New Covent Garden Market, the largest fruit, vegetable and flower market in the UK, the Paneltex demonstration programme attracted considerable interest from market companies, with the Zeroed electric truck in particular, making a striking impression with operators.
Representing the Somers refrigerated vehicle conversion business, within the Paneltex group of companies, was a high roof Mercedes Sprinter panel van, featuring a Somers ATP class C refrigerated conversion based on the GAH Super Rapier refrigeration system. Alongside this was also another Mercedes Sprinter panel van, this one being specified with a low-cost Paneltex chiller conversion using a GAH Arrow AC20T refrigeration system.
According to Chris Berridge, managing director, Paneltex, "On both evenings we had a really good turnout of visitors, which made the whole exercise extremely worthwhile, and we picked up a two vehicle order for refrigerated box bodies on Ford Transit 3.5tonne chassis cabs. In the day, we chose to run a specific ride and drive programme and the interest in the electric vehicle was tremendous. We now have a significant number of further demonstration visits to make to potential customers well into 2012, as a result of this event."
