Hino, Centro, Denso forge partnership to provide cold chain transport solution

By Ruben Manahan from carmudi.com.ph

The Philippines is expected to experience a 10-percent growth in the cold chain industry.

In the recent Cold Chain Logistics Workshop between the Philippines and Japan, Cold Chain Association of the Philippines President Anthony Dizon showed that the cold chain industry is projected to grow to 550,000 pallet positions this year.

“And we see the need nationwide for ref vans to transport goods from the farm or piers, to the cold storage facilities, then to the processing plants, then back to the cold storage facilities for its last-mile delivery to the retail outlets,” Dizon was quoted as saying.

In a bid to provide transport solutions from the first up to the last-mile delivery segments of the cold chain industry, Hino Motors Philippines (HMP), Centro Nippon Fruehauf (CFCI), and Denso have pooled their engineering expertise together to come up with the Hino 300 refrigerated van.

Last March, the HMP launched the Hino 300 Series to meet the demand of the logistics industry.

The Hino 300 model will be mounted with either a 10 or 11-footer Japanese Cooltech refrigerated van body with the cooling powered to be provided by Denso DS2 cooling system (whether the need is for a chilled or frozen cargo condition).

HMP Vice President for Business Planning Division Hiroki Senoo expressed excitement about the latest product offering that comes as a result of the partnership.

“With its outstanding features, we expect the Hino 300 ref van to be a game changer in the cold chain industry. It will fill the need for a reliable ref van and its durability and uncompromising quality will be backed by Hino’s one-stop solution where servicing of the ref system and body can also be done at any Hino dealership nationwide. That will make after sales service very convenient,” he said.

Meanwhile, HMP Vice President for Sales Division Oliver dela Cruz added that the Hino 300 refrigerated van is expected to change the country’s trucking and logistics landscape. “With the tough and tested Hino 300 light truck as platform in combination with a Denso cooling unit and Cooltech ref van body, it is designed to take on the rough and challenging terrains in the countryside. Customers can thus look forward to what is probably the best in Japanese technology in a ref van.”

Denso Sales Unit Head Masahiko Tanaka claimed that the DS2 refrigerated system has been proven to perform efficiently at lower operating cost.

“It can handle the cargoes at the temperature desired by the customer whether in chilled or frozen condition. On top of that, it is environmentally friendly based on the materials and refrigerant used. We have engineered it to work well with the Hino 300 light truck and the Cooltech ref van body and deliver outstanding performance expected of an all-Japan product,” Tanaka shared.

For his part, CFCI Production Manager Edd Nieva explained that the Cooltech refrigerated van body uses extruded polystyrene, an insulating material that is less water-absorptive. The production and assembly of ref vans. Nieva noted, utilizes Japanese technology, process and stringent quality control standards.

“The Cooltech ref van body is engineered to fuse perfectly well with the Japanese Hino 300 light truck and the Japanese Denso ref system to come up with a reliable all-Japan ref van. It is the perfect fusion among a tough, durable truck muscle, a cost- efficient cooling unit and a high-quality ref van body,” he said.

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