| 39 Urgent Cool LOGISTICS 19 27 Makomako Rd, Palmerston North 06 358 7109 www.morganlaurenson.co.nz Proudly supporting Urgent Cool Thermo King New Zealand Ltd is proud to be associated with Steve & the Team at Urgent Cool FOR ALL YOUR Transport Temperature Control New Equipment & Servicing Requirements 0800 THERMO (843-766) Sales - Neville Cole Service - Mark Hinshelwood or Matthew Parry and for Anteo Tail Lifts Sales & All Tail Lift Brands Servicing CALL US From the paddock to the plate in a day Meeting supermarkets’ strict delivery requirements means staying well ahead of the pack. T T Lindy Andrews First impressions count. For most supermarket shoppers, that first impression is a colourful, well stocked, market-fresh produce section. Urgent Cool General Manager Graham Marshall and his staff know just how critical that first impression is for generating overall store sales and a profitable bottom line. “Our clients’ produce goes from paddock to plate in a day,” he says. The logistics of ensuring fresh fruit and vegetables hit the shelves by opening time each morning rely on a slick operation and point-to-point care. While most of New Zealand sleeps, Urgent Cool’s drivers are up at 3am, hitting the road in a fleet made up of 18 hard-sider and double-skinned, insulated curtain-sider trucks, together with 10 trailers. From the time it is picked up from a grower, processor, manufacturer or produce broker, every carrot, potato, bagged salad or piece of fruit is kept at an audited, optimum temperature to preserve maximum freshness and quality. “We’ve invested quite a lot in getting it right,” Marshall explains. “We can generate a report for our clients in minutes that shows the temperature at every point along the journey. The system not only meets our clients’ audit requirements but if there is an issue, we can identify it early and fix it.” Meeting supermarkets’ strict delivery requirements means staying well ahead of the pack. Urgent Cool schedules its runs to ensure their vehicles are at the front of the morning off-load queues, where a fully loaded truck and trailer can put them an hour and a half behind. It’s that level of care, a “putting it right” attitude and attention to detail that has seen the company experience massive growth since founder Steve Bonnici bought it in 2019. Most of that has come from existing clients, such as produce processor Morgan Laurenson.“They’ve grown too – massively,” says Marshall. “We provide them with dedicated services every day”. That’s also meant growing the fleet and working closely with other haulage companies to meet demand. Newer kids on the block include the likes of Hello Fresh. With its head office in Palmerston North and depots in Hastings, Wellington and Auckland, Urgent Cool serves the bulk of the North Island, including Taranaki. Despite the many thousands of kilometres its drivers clock up, the company is proudly 100% carbon neutral and Toitu accredited. “Steve has been the big driver of that,” Marshall says. “It’s pretty full on, with a rigorous annual auditing process that expends to every aspect of our operations, including subcontractors.” While fresh produce tops Urgent Cool’s freight list, the company also carries shelf-stable products such as canned goods and high value artisan products. There’s even been the odd “random” – a helicopter transported from Auckland to Hawke’s Bay. New business is constantly on Marshall’s radar. Flexibility, robust service, building great relationships – and delivering the goods on client needs are key. “If a customer comes to us and says they need to move 20 pallets every day, we’ll make it happen,” he says. “It’s all about doing it right.” “Our clients’ produce goes from paddock to plate in a day,” he says. The logistics of ensuring fresh fruit and vegetables hit the shelves by opening time each morning rely on a slick operation.”
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