TESCO is having 50 panel vans converted to carry refrigerated goods for the first phase of its new Tesco Direct home delivery service. The service is being offered in selected areas and Refrigerated Vehicles (UK) Ltd (RVL) is in the process of converting the 50 Ford Transits, which will be used to deliver goods to customers who order their shopping over the telephone, fax or Internet.

In order to find the best design, Tesco initially developed a prototype van with a movable bulkhead which was put on trial for seven months. This revealed that the vehicles would need three separate compartments to carry ambient, chilled and frozen goods. Tesco then approached suppliers and body-builders to present their proposals and chose Refrigerated Vehicles to convert the 50 Transits for the start-up phase.

With the majority of the load being ambient, the whole front half of the load space has been separated from the chilled and frozen compartments by using a fixed insulated bulkhead. The rear sections are divided by another fixed bulkhead and each compartment has a separate door.