KLLM Adds Intermodal Containers With Vector 1550 Refrigeration Units
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KLLM Transport Services has added 610 domestic intermodal refrigerated containers that use Carrier Transicold’s thin-profile Vector 1550 refrigeration systems.
Using the thinner units creates the advantage of being able to carry as many pallets as a traditional 53-foot over-the-road trailer — 15 pallet rows versus 14, or 7% more cargo capacity. As a result, KLLM customers gain the efficiencies of rail transport without compromising the amount of cargo that can be transported, according to Richland, Miss.-based KLLM.
The new domestic refrigerated containers, which can be double-stacked, are helping KLLM transport food and pharmaceuticals coast to coast along rail networks through 12 major hubs supported by KLLM and third-party drayage operations.
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The all-electric refrigeration system is powered by a high-output generator direct-coupled to a diesel engine. Vector units also can be plugged into an electric power supply.
“We believe that the new slim-profile units, which give us extra pallet spaces, combined with the Carrier Transicold refrigeration technology, give us a competitive advantage,” KLLM President Jim Richards said.
“Although over-the-road trucking continues to be our core business, we do see certain customers moving some volume toward intermodal, and we are positioning ourselves to support them,” Richards said, noting intermodal brings advantages related to cost and quality of service, as well as sustainability and a reduced carbon footprint. “We see this as a futuristic mode that will continue to grow.”
KLLM Transport Services ranks No. 40 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.
KLLM’s Vector 1550 systems were installed by Southern States Utility Trailer through a turn-key program in which teams completed more than 100 installations a month at a Memphis, Tenn., rail yard.
Carrier Transicold is a brand of Carrier Global Corp. based in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. — Transport Topics
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