Laboratory chain on road to success with new transport fleet

Tuesday 30 November 1999

A fleet of refrigerated vehicles has hit the road at Eclipse Scientific Group following the implementation of a new transport strategy.

The company has spent more than £180,000 on 12 new refrigerated vans and a 4x4 pick up truck for the environmental division to provide a door-to-door service for the collection of laboratory samples.

Simon Dedman, Logistical Director, said: "This is a substantial investment which will enhance our ability to deliver to the client's requirements."

All the delivery vehicles will be equipped with remote tracking devices so that when an order is placed head office can check the location of each van and dispatch the nearest driver to collect the samples from the client.

Eclipse operates out of eight accredited laboratories based in Chatteris, Ely, Ashford, Snodland, Somerset, Manchester, and Portlaoise, in addition to its environmental division,Voelcker Consultants, in London.

The largest food testing company in the UK, Eclipse provides microbiological and analytical chemistry for the food and dairy industry, method development and validation for the pharmaceutical and health care industries, analysis of water supplies, waste and effluent monitoring and management, soil quality surveys and analytical services to all sectors involved in the production of animal feed and milk payment analysis.A refrigerated transport fleet is vital to ensure the validity of microbiological tests, so the temperature of the samples can be carefully controlled.

The new UK wide transport network replaces the existing courier service and will give the company greater flexibility to meet the client's needs.