The New England-based dairy HP Hood has purchased 16 Thermo King Precedent C-600 refrigeration units fitted with the company’s Smart Power Prep Package electric standby option. HP Hood wanted to improve the fuel saving capabilities of its distribution fleet, noted Peter Smith, fleet operations manager, and chose the Thermo King Precedent trailer platform because of its ability to achieve double-digit fuel savings. “The Precedent C-600 meets our goals for fuel efficiency, reliability and emissions compliance,” he said.

The Precedent is a new trailer temperature control platform designed to be compliant with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tier IV final regulations. The Precedent C-600 is a less-than-25 HP, single-temperature unit with an allowed useful life in California of seven years. With the manufacturer’s Smart Power Prep Package, Precedent builds in the capability for adding electric standby in the future without incurring additional up-front costs.

“We like that the electric-standby feature of the precedent platform enables us to manage fuel consumption of our idling trucks and continue to add electric standby to systems as needed,” Smith stated. “Electric standby is a less expensive power option for our trucks’ refrigeration systems and we want the ability to add it in the future when all of our warehouse facilities have the equipment needed to take advantage of this option.”