Cussolough Transport chooses Thermo King

Dublin based Cussolough Transport, one of the main distributors for Cuisine de France in Leinster, has recently taken delivery of the first Thermo King alternator-driven A-1050 refrigeration unit in Ireland, on a Scania 17 tonne rigid.

Thermo King launched the A-1050 earlier this summer. The first alternator driven refrigeration unit produced by Thermo King, the A-1050 is designed for medium to large sized trucks. Using Thermo King’s unique inverter technology, the A-1050 overcomes one of the main drawbacks to alternator driven refrigeration - that of the output of the refrigeration unit varying with engine speed. With the A-1050, the refrigeration capacity is constant, even when the vehicle’s engine is idling.

“We chose the A-1050 after a visit to Thermo King’s manufacturing facilities in Barcelona,” says Rory O’Sullivan, Mananging Director of Cussolough Transport. “We were shown a prototype of the unit, and we could immediately see the advantages for our own operation.”

“The new vehicle has been on the road for a few weeks now, and we certainly haven’t been let down,” Roy continues. “The biggest appeal is that it is so quiet, with virtually no noise above the vehicle engine. We deliver to retail outlets that start at 5.00 am, so this is a major consideration for us. It is also less labour intensive for our drivers - they don’t need to check separate diesel and oil levels on the refrigeration unit before they start.”

“The performance so far has been excellent,” he continues. “This is combined with lower operation costs - there is no separate diesel consumption, and it requires less servicing, as we only need to change belts once a year. There is the added advantage of more storage space because there is no evaporator, and we pay less road tax because the unit is lighter.”
Cussolough Transport deliver frozen par-baked bread and pastries from the Cuisine de France manufacturing facility in Dublin to retail outlets, ranging from large supermarkets to local stores throughout Leinster.

With 20 to 30 door openings per trip, temperature pull-down and recovery is very important. “The pull-down is excellent”, comments Roy. “Box temperature is brought from ambient (around +20oC) down to set point at -18oC within 40 minutes.”
Cussolough Transport runs a fleet of 14 temperature controlled 17 tonne rigid vehicles all fitted with Thermo King units. Starting eight years ago with one truck as an owner-driver, Roy O’Sullivan now employs 16 drivers.
All trucks in Cussolough’s fleet are also fitted with Thermo King’s remote data downloading technology R: COM, a requirement for Cuisine de France, allowing them to keep a close eye on temperatures throughout the journey.
All maintenance on the new A-1050 will be carried out by Thermo King’s dealer in Dublin, Ballinlough Refrigeration. Roy comments: “The back-up service we have received from Ballinlough has been excellent.”

“Looking to the future: We will definitely consider another A-1050 next time we need to expand our fleet.