Five new Isuzu trucks for Essential Trading Co-operative

The foods distributor Essential Trading Co-operative has ordered five new Isuzu trucks, the first of which has been delivered. Supplied by AK Commercials, the order consists of an 11-tonne F110.240(E) and four 7.5-tonne N75.190(E) rigids. These vehicles replace older Isuzu models on the fleet. The trucks feature Isuzu curtainside bodies and some will feature split bodies with refrigerated boxes at the front. 

Rob Baird, transport manager for Essential Trading, said: “We had tried many different manufacturers before the team at AK Commercials introduced us to Isuzu Truck back in 2015. It didn’t take long for us to see that their versatility and reliability would make all the difference with the type of delivery routes we operate.

“Other vehicles with similar payload capacities are substantially larger, which makes them difficult to operate on the smaller winding roads in the Bristol area. We also noticed that the Isuzu vehicles spent significantly less time in the workshop, which obviously helped to improve fleet efficiency and allowed us to better serve our customers. We genuinely haven’t looked back.”

The vehicles will be put to work on local multi-drop deliveries around Bristol and occasionally complete longer distance trips to support the fleet. On average, the trucks are expected to cover 70,000km annually. Essential Trading’s new trucks are on five-year repair and maintenance contracts. 

Baird said: “The team at AK Commercials has always ensured we get the right vehicles for our needs. Once on the road, we know we can also count on them to provide fantastic aftersales support, with servicing handled quickly and efficiently. We don’t need to lift a finger, it’s all taken care of.” 

Essential Trading supplies almost 5,000 products to independent retailers, schools, festival organisers and retreats. This includes ethical and sustainable wholefoods, ecological household products and cruelty-free body care.