German express operator Trans-o-flex has won a new delivery contract from Shell and is expandingits fleet of “green” vans in separate developments.
Trans-o-flex said it had been selected by Shell Deutschland Oil to deliver parcels containingproducts such as motor oil to the company’s 1,800 petrol stations and car workshops across Germany.During the test phase Trans-o-flex initially distributed a limited number of shipments weighing upto 58 kg and has now tripled these volumes. The express firm is also handling picking andpackaging, label printing and delivery note management for Shell Germany.
Trans-o-flex has also announced that it is extending its fleet of environmentally-friendlydelivery vehicles. One of its delivery sub-contractors, TKD Güterkraftverkehr
Bochum, has put 23 natural gas-driven vans into use for deliveries. Over 50 such vans nowoperate in trans-o-flex’s national network, and the figure should double to more than 100 byyear-end. The models used – Iveco Daily and Mercedes Sprinter – generate no particulate emissionsand can therefore still be used when other vehicles are banned from the roads due to smog orparticulate alarms. Moreover, they easily meet the strict NOx limits which will apply from2010.
“As a service company making more than half our revenue in the health market, we are very awareof our special responsibility in this area,” commented Thomas Mohorn, Marketing and Sales Directorat trans-o-flex. The company is a participant in the German Environment Ministry’s “Last Mile onthe Safe Side” project which is aimed at high environmental standards in goods delivery. Itincludes a grant of up to 4,000 euros for the purchase of particularly environmentally-friendlyvehicles, which is topped up by trans-o-flex with a further 500 euro bonus.
