Central england Coop lorries

Source: Central England Co-op

The new fleet is based at the retailer’s food distribution and chilled distribution centres in Leicester

Central England Co-op has spent more than £1.1m on a fleet of new vehicles.

The new fleet comprises three new trailers, one tractor and seven rigid lorries, based at the retailer’s food distribution and chilled distribution centres in Leicester.

Transport manager Gary Tomlinson said staff at both centres were the “hidden gems” of the society’s operation.

“They work in the background to make sure that everything runs smoothly so that food gets into stores on time and we make our customers happy,” he said.

“The modern fleet has a great, vibrant look and will also support our continuing efforts to be an environmentally responsible retailer.”

The sites operate 24 hours a day, 364 days a year, to supply 266 stores across 16 counties as well as 54 stores for two other societies - Tamworth and Heart of England.

The centres delivered 14.6 million cases of food to stores last year on 60 lorries. In the past six weeks, the chilled distribution centre dealt with 40,942 punnets of strawberries, 15,146 punnets of blueberries and 9,298 Co-op pepperoni and 8,706 Co-op margherita pizzas in anticipation of the bank holiday weekend.