Unipart Rail has renewed its contract with Bibby Distribution with the 3PL continuing to manage and operate the international rail parts and service provider’s specialised 33-vehicle fleet. The new agreement will see the two companies further their close working partnership, which spans almost two decades.
Unipart Rail re-awarded the contract to Bibby Distribution thanks to the logistics company’s proven commitment to improving the fleet’s efficiency, while reducing costs and carbon emissions.
Unipart Rail Transport Logistics Manager Rick Moglia says: "We are pleased to renew our contract with the Bibby team, which has been ongoing for nearly 20 years. They fully understand our requirements and are always looking for ways to improve their customer engagement and operational excellence. This fully aligns to our philosophy within Unipart."
To further improve the efficiency of the fleet, Bibby Distribution has added a 13.6m triple-deck trailer, which is used for the distribution of specialised train components, with six more to join the fleet in coming months. In addition, Bibby has also provided urban flatbed trailers for transporting rail bogies to less accessible delivery points.
Bibby Distribution has deployed several other innovations on the contract to improve efficiency; most recently in 2014, with the introduction of five tractor units converted to run on LPG. This move has helped Unipart Rail to reduce its CO2 emissions by 65 tonnes per year.
To support the vehicles, Bibby Distribution also installed an LPG tank at the vehicles’ home depot in Doncaster, allowing quick and easy refuelling.
Based in South Yorkshire and Chesire, Unipart Rail is a major supplier of train components in the UK. The privately-owned company also specialises in the refurbishment of train bogies from its Doncaster site.
The company supplies spare parts to hundreds of UK depots on a daily basis, in a unique service provided to its customers. Bibby Distribution provides out-based distribution services for Unipart Rail, with vehicles based at Avonmouth, Hoddesdon and Glasgow to service local regions.
Source: SHDLogistics