Thermo King honored Sheetz Inc., a family-owned convenience store chain based in Altoona, Pa., with more than 450 locations in six states, with its “Energy Efficiency Leader Award”. The award recognizes the retailer’s “outstanding efforts to increase the company’s environmentally sound practices.” Sheetz is the first convenience retail chain to win the award.
Sheetz has operated a delivery fleet of 52 Thermo King multi-temperature Sprinter vans that is saving more than 148,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually. The fleet travels 5.6 million miles a year, making 160,000 deliveries. Sheetz added the Thermo King Sprinter vans to its fleet in 2012 to support distribution of baked goods from its kitchen bakery and commissary.
“Delivering fresh products to every single Sheetz location every single day is a critical piece of our operation,” said Stan Sheetz, president and chief executive officer. “We have to make sure to meet our quality standards with each delivery. We’re pleased that Thermo King has provided us with a temperature precision solution to meet these standards while also saving money and minimally impacting the environment.”
Thermo King and its dealer, Thermo King of Pittsburgh, along with Arctic Vans collaborated to develop a solution for Sheetz that incorporates a multi-temperature refrigeration unit with electric standby, custom air distribution and an auxiliary Espar heating unit for temperature recovery in extreme cold conditions. The electric standby option enables the unit to be plugged in at distribution centers, saving more than 85,000 gal. of fuel each year.
