Müller Wiseman Dairies

Müller Wiseman Dairies was established in 1947. At Bellshill it collects, processes, bottles and distributes milk and cream to other depots and large Customer Distribution Centres. It employs 330 staff at this site.

The Transport Award recognises businesses that have reduced transport-related fuel consumption and consequent CO₂ emissions. The VIBES Judges felt that Müller Wiseman are an excellent example of how all businesses can make changes to their transport approaches and reap the benefits.

The VIBES Judges (representatives from SEPA and Energy Saving Trust) felt that Müller Wiseman Dairies are a fantastic example of a large business which has made significant enhancements to their transport plans to improve their environmental impact and reduce their costs. The judges recognised that the company’s positive transport actions demonstrate clear commitment from all levels of management and that recent work has also resulted in enthusiastic commitment from drivers.

Müller Wiseman Dairies effectively integrates their transport plan into their general management strategy and have clear targets and performance indicators which are regularly assessed. Their purchase and implementation of LNG vehicles has significantly reduced fuel costs and carbon emissions but the company has also worked hard to encourage and ensure support from employees concerning the changes made in transport procedures.

To ensure the buy-in of the drivers, the company invested in a Transport Logistics Manager and have involved drivers in finding solutions to any issues that the change to LNG Vehicles has highlighted, such as refuelling. Employees have been engaged in developing the processes, have been provided with comprehensive training and now are enthusiastic about the vehicles which drive better and use much less fuel than previous vehicles.

Müller Wiseman initially attempted to convert to LNG using a different fleet of vehicles but the results of this were not as positive as expected and there was a lack of support from the drivers. Committed to still making the change the company invested in nine new LNG Volvo trucks which has transformed the driver’s approaches to the new technology. Vehicle fuel consumptions monitored and daily logs are returned. They have an in-cab ISOTRACK device that measures fuel consumption and has GPS tracking,this provides detailed fuel consumption figures. So far, the results show that these vehicles, driven correctly, achieve fuel consumption figures that are the equivalent of between 16-20 mpg representing a significant fuel saving and translating into a significant reduction in carbon emissions.

The purchase of their new vehicles was made possible through a grant for 45% of the cost from the Technology Strategy Board. With this finance, the pay-back period on the vehicles has dropped to less than a year. Running the new vehicles returns savings of around £50,000 per month on transport costs to the business. The success of these vehicles has led to an investigation on the feasibility of also using this type of system on farm collection vehicles. Projected savings compared to the previous diesel fleet, will be between £650,000 – £1m in the next financial year.

The VIBES Judges were also impressed by the future transport plans of the company. They are hoping to put similar vehicles into use at all their sites, and look at making changes to the smaller delivery vehicles and the Farm collection vehicles. The use of LNG has been a significant learning experience and the company plan to use this to develop the business case for LNG vehicles. They plan to use the modified ISOTRACK to optimise journeys and further reduce fuel use.

David Douglas, Group Environmental Manager for Müller Wiseman Dairies, said: “We are very proud to have won the Transport Award at the VIBES Awards 2013. We have set ourselves stretching targets which underpin the business’ drive for higher levels of efficiency. At the heart of the plan we have placed major reductions in the use of electricity, gas, fuel, water and waste to landfill.”