Kwik-Fit Win Green Industry Award
Kwik-Fit was yesterday announced winner of the Environment Award in the 2009 Van Fleet World Honours, which recognised the company’s
environmental strategy and completes a hat-trick of awards for 2009 from the industry’s leading publications. Kwik-Fit Fleet has already been voted by readers of BusinessCar the nation’s top fast-fit company for an incredible 16 years in succession and has scooped the award for Fleet Supplier of the Year by Fleet News, in the 2009 industry ‘Oscars’. This year’s hat-trick brings the independent company’s award tally to almost 70 since launch 22 years ago.
The annual Van Fleet World Honours were presented at a ceremony at London’s Royal Automobile Club. The judging panel is chaired by industry professional, George Emmerson, who has managed fleets at IBM, NHBC and Black Horse Agencies. Members of the judging panel include Ken Rogers, John Kendall, and Ross Durkin from Van Fleet World and Fleet World’s editorial team, and fleet manager Jackie Pomfrett.
Kwik-Fit Fleet has been at the forefront of the recycling revolution with waste products from tyres to batteries and oil reprocessed and recycled for many years. However, summer 2008 saw its environmental focus increase with the opening of its £10 million, 245,000 square feet National Distribution Centre in Corby, Northampton. The opening of the Centre created about 200 new jobs and will benefit not only fleet customers but the environment and will help to reduce road traffic congestion.
The many varied assets of the centre include daily stock replenishment of stock and customer requirements met daily ensuring that fleet vehicle downtime is kept to an absolute minimum, catalytic converters shredded and recycled for use in artificial sports pitches, equine surfaces and children’s playgrounds and ‘one-for-one exchange’, where trucks reload in eight minutes results in trucks always travelling fully loaded thus saving up to three million miles a year and an estimated 3,000 tonnes of carbon in reduced emissions.
Van Fleet World editor John Kendall said: “Last year’s record fuel prices focused fleet attention on fuel consumption, but the overall environmental impact of commercial vehicle operations is made up of far more than just tailpipe emissions and Kwik-Fit Fleet has fully embraced this fact.
“Its new National Distribution Centre has had a dramatic impact on the company’s carbon footprint. The provides the hub for a highly efficient distribution system which reduces the number of miles travelled by its truck fleet, without reducing the efficiency of its tyre fitting operations.”
Mr Emmerson added: “Virtually every major fleet tender now requires suppliers to spell out their environmental credentials and this move further enhances Kwik-Fit Fleet’s reputation as a ‘green’ supplier. Bearing in mind the type of products the company sells, its efforts in the environmental arena really are worthy of praise.”
Mike Wise, head of Kwik-Fit Fleet, said: “Kwik-Fit Fleet has taken responsibility on behalf of the fleet industry to not only deliver new parts in an environmentally efficient manner, but to dispose of waste in a ‘green’ way. Therefore, it is fantastic that our corporate social responsibility is being recognised
“Being environmentally-friendly is a challenge because of the products we sell. However, the opening of the National Distribution Centre puts us in the vanguard of being ‘green’ as the introduction of ‘reverse logistics’ means that our delivery trucks never run empty.
“The strategies that we are pursuing with parts recycling and the launch of our National Distribution Centre deliver multiple benefits and efficiencies that assist Kwik-Fit Fleet, our customers and Britain.”
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