Krispy Kreme, Britain’s favourite doughnut manufacturer, has just taken delivery of a fleet of new MAN vehicles. The new fleet, a mix of 33 3.5 tonne TGE’s and 30 7.5 tonne TGL’s, will deliver Krispy Kreme’s freshly made treats daily to their 123 stores located across the UK and to over 1500 cabinets in their nationwide retail partner outlets.
Offering a car-like driving experience the 33 TGE’s are all based on the 3.140 standard wheelbase chassis cabs, with bespoke Luton Box bodies. Each vehicle has been designed to hold 16 of the standardised Krispy Kreme roller cage delivery units and to ease the driver’s life, while ensuring a safe store delivery, aluminium 500 kg column tail lifts have been fitted to all vehicles.
All 30 7.5 tonne TGL’s have been bodied by ZJB Engineering Ltd of Wisbech, these vehicles can carry 30 of the standardised Krispy Kreme roller cage delivery units, and like their TGE siblings, they also have aluminium column tail lifts fitted.
Diane Clifford, Head of Logistics, Krispy Kreme UK said, “Our journey to replace our fleet started in 2021 when as a business we looked at the efficiency of our delivery operation and its suitability moving forward. Studying the market and talking with manufacturers it was instantly apparent that MAN singled themselves out. They instantly grasped our business model and in doing so offered more than just a new vehicle sales function; their approach was very much about consulting, qualifying and meeting the needs of our business.
“This much appreciated approach rapidly developed and quickly delivered the benefit of greater understanding and a higher level of partnering trust. The entire team at MAN has made the fleet procurement faultless.”
All of the new vehicles are finished in glazed white with the instantly recognisable Krispy Kreme signage on both doors and above the cab. Each of the bodies carries the Krispy Kreme “Home of the Original Glazed Doughnut” bowtie logo with glazing cascading over freshly made doughnuts.
The 33 TGE’s were sold by, prepared and PDI’d by MAN Truck & Bus UK Ltd’s franchised partner PCL Group of Gatwick. The 30 TGL’s were purchased through MAN Truck & Bus UK’s Direct Sales function, these vehicles were prepared and PDI’d by MAN Truck & Bus UK Ltd’s franchised partner Manchetts of Peterborough. In addition to this vehicle order of 63 vehicles, Krispy Kreme has another 40 TGE’s in build for delivery in 2023.
“To ensure our drivers arrive safely and our freshly baked produce arrives ready for customer consumption, we needed a fleet of vehicles that met our exacting brief. Not only our technical requirement but they also needed to fit with our company image too.” Continued Diane.
Specified in front wheel drive configuration with six-speed manual transmissions, the 33 140 bhp 3.5 tonne MAN TGE’s offer drivers a comfortable, ergonomically designed, bright, airy, safe, and secure workspace. Each of the vehicles features comfortable seats, spacious and practical storage solutions, cup holders, USB ports and advanced infotainment systems. Driver safety, a key area of the Krispy Kreme business, is met in the form of all vehicles being equipped with Emergency Brake Assist (EBA), ABS, ESP, Crosswind Assist, Multi-collision Brake and Hill-assent Assist. Forward and rear-facing cameras have also been fitted across the fleet.
Offering a greater payload the 30 bespoke bodied 7.5 tonne TGL’s all use the compact and popular CC cab. Mounted low on the robust high load capacity chassis, the CC cab provides the driver with a clear view of the surroundings, eye-to-eye contact with pedestrians and a low entry and exit height. Driver safety is met in the form of all vehicles being equipped with Electronic Braking System (EBS) ABS, Anti-Slip Control (ACS) ESP, EBA and to ensure the drivers have their hands on the wheel at all times, multifunctional steering wheels. Like the TGE’s all of the TGL’s have camera systems fitted.
“The 30 new TGL 7.5 tonners needed to be bodied to carry a greater capacity of produce to our busier Krispy Kreme outlets, and, because many of these are located in high street locations, the vehicles also needed to offer the right balance between payload, volume and an acceptable urban footprint,” added Diane. “From initial conversations with our drivers and listening to the feedback from our store managers, we’ve suitably addressed the needs of the business.”
Tracing their roots back to 1937 in the US when Krispy Kreme founder Vernon Rudolph bought a secret yeast raised doughnut recipe from a New Orleans French chef, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts UK opened their first store in 2003, in the world-famous Harrods department store, in London. Today Krispy Kreme has 123 stores spread across the country, from the South Coast up to Edinburgh, covering England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and can be purchased in over 1500 retail partner cabinets in their instantly recognisable boxes, in major airports, shopping malls, cities, town centres, superstores, supermarkets and motorway service locations.
With its UK headquarters in Frimley, Surrey, Krispy Kreme is famed for their amazing melt in the mouth doughnuts. During the manufacturing process every single doughnut is hand checked and their decorated range, with delicious sprinkles and coatings, are always hand crafted and hand finished. With over 30 doughnuts, fillings and toppings to choose from Krispy Kreme offer a personalised choose-your-own service, which offers customers a choice of a single boxed doughnut, pick your favourite dozen, doughnuts with individual hand-piped messages, right through to an assorted tower centrepiece with 216 doughnuts. They can even offer a themed range such as the limited edition zombie Halloween doughnuts with undead-Ned, wrapped-up Rita and spooky sprinkles.
Diane concluded, “Working with MAN has been a fantastic experience, and we’d like to thank both Greg Lackey (PCL Van Sales Specialist) and Bill Sear (MAN Truck & Bus UK Ltd Direct Truck Sales) whose knowledge and experience has shone through throughout.”
All of the vehicles are subject to a comprehensive all-encompassing Gold repair and maintenance package and have been funded through MAN Financial Services on Hire Purchase Agreements, the 30 TGL trucks on 48-month terms, the 33 TGE vans on 60-month terms.
Vehicle maintenance is catered for by the dedicated MAN Commercial Vehicle dealer network which offers extended opening hours and round the clock servicing, designed to meet and service the needs of the customer.
The entire MAN range benefits from MAN’s Mobile24 24-hour assistance service, which guarantees customers a professional roadside partner throughout Europe, 365 days of the year.
