Knowles Transport has placed an order for a further 50 trailers, to help the company keep up with increased demand for its services over the past 18 months in the UK.

Manufactured by Lawrence David, the trailers will advertise Knowles’ commitment to providing Net Zero warehousing for customers and a target for achieving Net Zero for transport operations by 2045 on the back doors.

The total investment in the new trailers this year, which are a mix of replacements for existing trailers as well as new additions to supplement Knowles’ growing fleet is £1.5 million.

Built to a premium component specification, the Lawrence David pillarless curtainsiders feature a rear roof air diffuser, flush rear doors for functionality and aesthetics, full LED lighting, a premium load securing system, and provide maximum body access for operational efficiencies while maintaining optimum overall height.

This latest order continues the relationship between Knowles and Lawrence David which goes back more than 40 years.

“With all new road vehicles set to be zero-emission within the next two decades, and the UK setting a Net Zero target by 2050, fleet operators need to proactively look at how they are going to meet such targets,” said Alex Knowles, Knowles’ managing director

“We have already introduced a number of measures such as use of solar energy, electric manual handling and green energy procurement together with a number of other initiatives in the pipeline such as increased use of alternative fuels and waste reduction. Understandably there is a greater onus on our industry to act with regards to increasing sustainability and we intend to continue to drive this.

“The purchase of 50 new trailers acts as an excellent springboard to announce our zero-emission pledge and acts as the first step to our journey to achieving Net Zero status. We have invested heavily in achieving Net Zero across a number of our warehouse operations and will look to continue to invest in this area across the board in lines with our targets”

“The investment also acts as yet another example of the company responding to increased demand and catering to the needs of our customers. With demand for our services ever-increasing the requirement to not only support our ongoing fleet replacement programme but to cater for growth is vital to futureproofing the business.”