Considering leasing refrigerated trailers? Arctic Glacier, a leading North American producer of premium ice products and services, will tell you that leasing refrigerated trailers can save time and money compared to the upfront and upkeep costs of owning those trailers.
While growing its market share through acquisitions, Arctic Glacier saw leasing as a more efficient alternative to maintaining older vehicles inherited from companies it acquired. Having rented refrigerated trailers from Mckinney on an as-needed basis, the company engaged and eventually selected us in its RFP process to add leased trailers to its fleet.
Safe to say, as a packaged ice manufacturer delivering throughout the U.S. and Canada, Arctic Glacier needs its refrigerated trailers to be ultra-reliable, pointing to perhaps the most important aspect to consider when leasing refrigerated trailers: trailer maintenance.
Trailer Maintenance
All vehicles require maintenance, but with refrigerated trailers, the stakes are higher. No business, large or small, can afford to lose large quantities of perishable goods to refrigeration failures. That’s not to mention the impacts of missed deliveries on customer relationships and the bottom line. With full-service maintenance shops and certified service technicians at every branch location, Mckinney provides both the proactive and responsive maintenance that customers like Arctic Glacier need to keep perishables cold and deliveries on schedule. Here are a few reasons why maintenance is the key to leasing refrigerated trailers:
For Compliance
Vehicle checks and emissions guidelines can be challenging to navigate from state to state. There are also annual federal inspections that must be completed. For Arctic Glacier, the biggest challenge was in the western U.S., where California has especially demanding and ever-evolving emissions regulations, including the Basic Inspection of Terminals (BIT) program requiring inspections every 90 days. These frequent inspections — or the penalties for noncompliance — can become costly for businesses that own vehicles. Leasing from Mckinney helped Arctic Glacier relieve the burden, knowing our team is keeping up with and taking care of all state and federal inspections.
For Convenience
If your business is based in, delivering to or routing through the western U.S., there’s a Mckinney branch and maintenance shop within reach. We have locations across California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Texas. In addition to our maintenance shops, we also have technicians and vetted partners who can complete inspections on-site, including engine inspections for refrigerated units. They can also quickly respond to emergency repairs.
“Mckinney works with our schedule to keep our trailers on the road where we need them and not in repair facilities or offline,” said Dan Laurencelle, operations leader at Arctic Glacier. “It’s also great to be able to right-size our fleet with Mckinney’s different options and position our operations to run as efficiently as possible.”
In “right-sizing” his fleet, Laurencelle is referring to the ability to choose from multiple lengths and styles of trailers with convenient features like roll-up or swing doors, liftgates or ramps, air chutes, interior lighting, electric standby and more.
For Peace of Mind
If maintenance is the key to leasing refrigerated trailers, communication is the engine.
“Mckinney sends us reminders ahead of maintenance checks and inspections,” Laurencelle said. “Between our checklists and theirs, we know we’re going to be compliant and up to date with all servicing.”
Laurencelle added that he appreciates having access to a dedicated account manager who understands his business and is always available to answer questions. Scott Lanz, director of national accounts with Mckinney, agreed that it’s a well-maintained partnership.
“Arctic Glacier is very present and that allows us to be very present as well,” Lanz said. “We have the systems in place to respond quickly, our locations understand the relationship, and it makes Arctic Glacier’s team proud to have the best equipment. Leasing refrigerated trailers isn’t easy business. We’re happy to see how well it’s working with Arctic Glacier and many others.”
Mckinney also provides refrigerated trailer telematics. Our refrigerated trailers are equipped with the best tracking technology, including ORBCOMM on our Carrier units and TracKing on our ThermoKing units. Temperature management, real-time alerts, GPS features, automated data, recordkeeping and advanced reports give fleet managers and plant managers even more peace of mind that perishables are being delivered on time and at the right temp.
For Profitability
In transportation, where margins are inherently thin, all roads lead back to the importance of profitability. By carefully, thoroughly and reliably maintaining our trailers, we’re effectively reducing our customers’ operating costs and, above all, keeping their businesses moving. When trailers are on the road, you’re making customers happy and driving returns on your equipment investments.
“When you find a great partner like Mckinney, your focus turns solely to your business,” Laurencelle said. “They make our lives easier and our business better.”
Learn more about leasing refrigerated trailers from Mckinney.
