Daimler, Motherson team up to offer customised coldchain solutions
CHENNAI: With the vaccines for Coronavirus out, the joint efforts of Daimler and Motherson could not have come at a better time. On Friday, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) and Motherson showcased their ‘Made in India’ reefer truck meant to transport the sought-after vaccines across the country.
Such a collaboration only highlights the challenges of the cold-chain infrastructure prevailing in the country, where only 15 per cent of the current demand is met, said Vivek Chaand Sehgal, Motherson, as he sought to point out the rationale of providing solutions tailored for the Indian market under 96 hours.
The Bharat Benz ‘BSafe Express’ is a specialised truck that assures safe despatch of vaccines in a smart way. Satyakam Arya, MD-CEO, DICV, said: “The combination of a strong, reliable chassis with a lightweight, insulated reefer and connectivity device makes it the perfect solution to India’s cold-chain infrastructure challenge. With this truck, we can deliver vaccines in perfect condition to even the most remote destinations, bringing hope of a return to normalcy to over 1.3 billion people.”
The refrigerated container (intelligent reefer) boasts of glass reinforced plastic, XPS foam, and other carefully chosen materials that ensure the product is strong, water-resistant, and non-corrosive, yet light-weight and highly insulated. They also have purpose-built IoT sensors integrated inside the container that enables fleet managers to track and monitor temperature, humidity among other things.
To a query, Arya said the market demand would determine the capacity utilisation. For now, DICV is waiting for the second phase of vaccine distribution wherein 27 crore people would be served. This required 10,000 to 12,000 trucks, he said.
LV Sehgal, VC, Motherson said the ramp up would be based on demand and the existing components portfolio of the company had been used for the customised roll-out. As such, only internal investments already done came into use.