Cooler trucks planned to win flavoured milk contract

Press, 7 December 1981, Page 12

Cooler trucks planned to win flavoured milk contract

■. Christchurch milkmen plan to . insulate or refrigerate their trucks to try;to win a contract from the Canterbury Dairy Farmers’ Cooperative to sell 'flavoured /milk.. .■ . The president of ’ the •Canterbury Milk Vendors',' ..Association, Mr?R. R. Millar, said that..th.e association was. obtaining quotations for/the, work.'All Christchurch milk'-” : irrien were '• “keen” to < sell flavoured milk. It will not be a cheap conversion. One , milkmanwas told that to refrigerate his truck — which is preferable to • insulation — would '■ cost $7500. Insulation would cost about $lOOO. ■; r r . ' . The co-operative told /the milk vendors in September that they could not. sell the

milk without altering their . vehicles, to keep the. milk at a suitably cold temperature.. “They . want refrigeration or very, very good insular tion,” said.<Mr Millar. • The general manager of the co-operative, Mr. G. B. ’ Lprigah, said in September that- he was “reluctant” to break the . contract with , Combined Co-operative. Distribtitojs,- whose • members deliver '‘Blg”?M’.’. ip.: retail •outlets.’, ~ Although the vendors may get their trucks converted, there is', still no guarantee that the “Big M” contract would gO to them. Mr Millar ' said that it was a “business risk” which the association’s members had decided to take. There was no question of

delivering flavoured milk in cartons to private houses, dr of sharing the contract with C.C.D., from the association’s point of view, said Mr Millar. As flavoured milk was in cartons, it was not considered suitable for private delivery unless there was some way that “we could get. the householders to take it/as. soon as we arrive,” he. said. It would not stand being, left 'in the sun. , ,' '■.■. : He said that if the mpdifi-. cations''.were'. made, it was hoped it would give the vendors access to other Dairy Farmers' products as well. Mr Lorigan said that the co-operative would be. willing to talk to the vendors about the matter. However, the present system was satisfactory. and it was “highly

unlikely” that there would be any changes to the distribution arrangement for “Big M” “at this stage.” However,’ he agreed with Mr Millar that there could be an opportunity for the vendors to deal with other \ co-operative products not yet /on the market. Because of the competitive nature of the ’ business, he would not say what - other- products were planned for release. The “Big M” contract with C.C.D. was not. on a fixedtime basis, but the co-opera-tive would have to give . 'plenty of notice to C.C.D. if a , change was to be made, said Mr Lorigan.’ Milk vendors 'have main- . .tained that they should have . access to all milk products.