Two bakery ingredients suppliers have introduced new electric trucks to their fleets to help power up the decarbonisation journey of the supply chain.
Flour supplier ADM has purchased two 100% electric heavy goods vehicles to help with nationwide deliveries directly from its processing facility in Corby, Northamptonshire. It has also installed a high-speed vehicle charger at the site to enable more efficient operations and reduce reliance on third-party charging networks.
The investment follows ADM’s partnership last year with logistics and transportation firm Voltloader on the deployment of electric tractor units to deliver flour to Jacksons Bakery, also in Corby.
The new DAF XD trucks are powered entirely by certified renewable energy and produce zero emissions during operation. They are expected to reduce CO₂ by around 95 tonnes each per year, based on calculations using the UK Gov 2021 GHG Scope 3 Reporting Factor.
“In line with the UK’s Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator scheme, this new investment underscores ADM’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions across the food supply chain in order to meet customer needs”, said Ashley Fuller, managing director of ADM Milling UK.
Sweet fleet
As part of a new contract with British Sugar, Cambridgeshire-based Masters Logistical has introduced two Volvo FM 5 electric trucks to its fleet. These will be used for the shunting operation between British Sugar’s two sugar beet processing plants in Wissington, Norfolk, and Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, and Masters’ distribution centre in Stretham near Ely.
The move is said to reflect the companies’ joint ambition to explore low-emission alternatives within high-volume logistics environments and will also help assess operational performance, infrastructure requirements, and opportunities to expand electric vehicle use over time.
“Sustainability is an on-going journey,” commented Masters Logistical MD Mark Stoodley. “Introducing electric vehicles is just one part of our broader strategy to deliver efficient, responsible logistics without compromising service or efficiency.”
Masters recently announced a renewed three-year contract with British Sugar to see it continue as a key logistics provider managing nationwide warehousing operations. It first established a short-term collaboration in 2018 during a major automation upgrade in Wissington, which then evolved to have Masters handling more than one million pallets, over five times the original forecast.
British Sugar is the UK’s sole processor of homegrown sugar beet, working with over 2,300 growers across the East of England, the East Midlands and Yorkshire. It processes up to eight million tonnes of sugar beet annually at four sites located in Wissington (the largest of its kind in Europe), Bury St Edmunds, Newark in Nottinghamshire, and Cantley in Norfolk (its oldest factory running for over 110 years).
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