Produce brand goes bio-LPG

If produce is your game, it's hardly surprising you choose bio-LPG as your alternative fuel. Or maybe it is quite surprising after all, since synthetic, renewable autogas isn't that common these days. And yet that's exactly what Grá Irish Fresh Produce did by teaming up with Gallagher Brothers Haulage, who will use eight converted 18-metre trucks to distribute the company's goods across Ireland.

Efficient and innovative distribution has a central role to play in the fresh produce supply chain and we are very proud to lead the way in embracing this new technology and partnering Total Produce in this exciting venture.

Mark Gallagher, co-owner of Gallagher Brothers Haulage

Thanks to partial substitution with LPG, each truck consumes some 30% less diesel – they now run on 70/30 diesel/autogas mixture. Not only does this allow to cut the running costs, but also reduces noise pollution by 10%, greenhouse gas emissions by up to 48% and NO_X emissions by as much as 45%. It may seem a lot given LPG only accounts for less than a third of the fuel dose, but don't forget it's renewable, so on a well-to-wheel basis it offers more environmental benefit.

As Ireland’s largest fresh produce provider, we in Total Produce are committed to minimising our impact on the environment. I know that this is a conviction that we share with our Grá group of local growers across the island, so it is particularly appropriate that the introduction of these vehicles coincides with the launch of the Grá range of local fruits & vegetables nationally.

Des McCoy, managing director of Total Produce Ireland