Cream-O-Land: A Voice of Experience

Cream-O-Land Dairy of Florence, N.J., can speak from experience about the benefits of the scroll compressor for truck refrigeration applications.

The milk distributor started testing three Thermo King systems with the revolutionary compressor about two years ago. This helped set the stage for the transport refrigeration manufacturer's introduction of its new Model XDS SR (Smart Reefer) system, featuring the scroll compressor, early this year.

"The tests went extremely well," said Greg Walsh, director of maintenance. "The prototype systems just kept on running, aggravation free. Cooling capacity and pulldown were very good, vibration was lower and noise was less intrusive. Also, we had about 6,500 hours on the belts, over three times the normal life, when we pulled them off to send back to Thermo King."

The process continued a tradition of cooperative product and component testing between the customer and supplier. They have had an excellent working relationship, Walsh pointed out, and Cream-O-Land operates under conditions that "challenge" the refrigeration system.

"Among the delivery issues addressed every day are heavy loads, bad roads and many stops," he said. "Providing good service requires quality equipment from suppliers as well as dedication from everyone in our company. We can tell first hand, considering the component testing we have done, that Thermo King strives to produce the best unit possible."

A distributor since 1943, Cream-O-Land delivers a full line of dairy products to customers such as chain stores, mom and pop stores, supermarkets, schools, hospitals and prisons. It has about 4,000 accounts in an area covering New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and metropolitan New York and Long Island.

Trucks are on the road 24 hours a day, six days a week, and there generally are more than 40 stops per route. Outbound loads average about six million pounds per week.

Most of the loads protected by the Thermo King fleet are mid-temp, 34 degrees. However, all trucks ordered by Cream-O-Land in the last 10 years have been spec'ed to handle low-temp as well. There are about 90 units in the fleet, of which 52 are the Model TD-II 30. Some older models date back to the mid-1980's and have operated more than 30,000 hours without need for overhaul, reported Walsh.

"We now spec the TD for both 20- and 24-foot truck bodies in order to get faster recovery, reduced running time and parts standardization," he said. "These features, plus the Cycle-Sentry start-stop system, have resulted in a fast payback on our investment."

Cream-O-Land keeps a close eye on costs. It uses Maintenance Dossier to track all maintenance on-computer, and a staff of five mechanics performs most of the work on all of the company's equipment. Refrigerated PM's are done at 800-hour intervals. Walsh calls the frequency of service "economical insurance" that pays for itself in contributing to equipment longevity.

Parts are purchased from Thermo King of Philadelphia. The dealership also runs comparison tests for Cream-O-Land and is involved in other ways, such as keeping the customer informed about new products and developments.

"Over the years we have generated a very good relationship with both Thermo King of Philadelphia and the corporation," said Walsh.

Cream-O-Land was therefore most receptive to the idea of testing the scroll compressor and feels that the performance of the three XDS SR systems more than lived up to expectations. When time comes to phase out older units in the fleet, the replacement equipment "will be scroll units," said Walsh.