[Aditya]

Tata Motors is offering a range of refrigerated trucks for end-to-end transportation of the COVID-19 vaccine. The range consists of SCVs and M&HCVs, which are available on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal for purchase.



The new range of vehicles has been designed and engineered as per temperature, volume and weight requirements prescribed by the government. The vehicles are available in a variety of capacities and tonnage points with 20 and 32 cuM refrigerated trucks in the Intermediate Commercial Vehicle (ICV) and Medium Commercial Vehicle (MCV) segments, respectively. Insulated vans are available in the ICV and MCV segments. Insulated vaccine vans in the Small Commercial Vehicle (SCV) and pick-up range are also on offer, to facilitate last-mile and for rural transportation of vaccines.

Tata Motors has tied up with leading reefer (refrigerated load body) manufacturers of the country. Over the years, Tata Motors has sold a number of reefers to various cold chain customers, primarily constituting pharma companies. These vehicles are claimed to offer longer uptime, quicker turnaround time and minimal maintenance and operation costs. They are also equipped with Fleet Edge telematics.

Link to Team-BHP News Article

[EightSix]

Here is the press release for the same:
pr22jan21.pdf

Also, would like to add to this thread: Tata Motors is not the only one who is making special COVID-Vaccine Trucks.



Daimler (BharatBenz) & Motherson Sumi have launched their own customised refrigerated COVID transporter truck.

With the start of the first phase of the country-wide vaccination drive against COVID-19, Daimler Indian Commercial Vehicles (DICV) and Motherson Sumi have launched a customised refrigerated truck to transport the vaccines.

While the 28 tonne BharatBenz truck is made by the Chennai-based truck and bus maker DICV, the refrigerated container mounted on it is developed by the Motherson Sumi Group, India’s largest auto component maker.

The purpose-built truck can store vaccines up to a maximum of negative 20 degree which can be monitored at all stages of the delivery process. The truck comes with an app that monitors the temperature during the entire transit process to maintain the efficacy of the vaccine.

For security purposes Motherson Sumi has even installed sensors on the vehicle which can alert the driver in case the doors are opened during transit.

Satyakam Arya, Managing Director, and CEO, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, said, “With this truck, we can deliver vaccines in perfect condition to even the most remote destinations. We are discussing with cold chain service providers and the units of the government for supplies”.

Vivek Chaand Sehgal, Chairman, Motherson Group said, “Our product enables temperature control and tamper monitoring which are critical to ensure effective distribution of the COVID vaccine across India”.

Motherson Group’s refrigerated container is made from Glass Reinforced Plastic, XPS Foam, and other materials that, the group claims, has ensured the product is strong, water-resistant and noncorrosive, yet light-weight and highly insulated.

“The container can be assembled locally in as little as 96 hours, making it a much more practical solution than conventional products which can take three or more weeks to deliver”, stated a media release.

With purpose-built IoT sensors integrated inside the container, fleet managers can monitor temperature, humidity, shock, tilt, and tamper. They can also adjust the temperature as required and sound the alarm if a problem occurs. This further integrates with QR Code tracking of all stock onboard, so that users can check the location, status, and history of each package.

The trucks will come with infection proof fabric as standard, COVID-19 kit which will have the N95 mask, sanitiser and a disinfectant spray. There will be a partition between the driver seat and the driver rest area to maintain safe distancing. An optional UV disinfectant gadget can be purchased separately.

“We expect real demand to come when the second phase of the vaccination begins which is when the vaccination of certain age groups will start. We believe that the current cold storage transport system is inadequate to bear the enormous pressure of transportation. We feel that the entire country needs around 10,000-12,000 reefer trucks”, Arya added.

Source: https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/te...e-6383761.html

Related article on TOI: Vaccine drive opens new biz opportunity for truck makers

[tsk1979]

This thread shines a sorry light on SME industrial capacity in India (or rather the lack of it).
We should not need Tata and Diamler to make refridgerated trucks.

Trucks should have a standardized chassis (like in the west all tractor trailers use standard hookup etc.,), and then small scale industrial units can just make refrigerated containers. Due to lack of such capacity, or rather lack of grassroots small industrial production, we will always be dependent on the large players.

Slowly and slowly there is a lot of consolidation, and SMEs are getting pushed out. This is one of the reason vehicle modification and customization scene in India is such a nightmare (of course recent laws also come to mind).

[Cessna182]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Slowly and slowly there is a lot of consolidation, and SMEs are getting pushed out. This is one of the reason vehicle modification and customization scene in India is such a nightmare (of course recent laws also come to mind).

Good summary of the situation in the SME sector.

The other reality is that many SMEs do not invest in training the workforce to achieve the finesse expected from an international product, maybe due to operational and financial constraints.

While there are many companies who make jugaad buses and custom made vehicles like tow vans and chilled produce delivery vans, the expertise needed to design a reliable and safe product is lacking. For example, the locally made food transport trucks that I see do not have a good antimicrobial coating inside. The expertise needed for such specific applications could be missing. This is sad because 90 percent of the workforce is employed by the SME sector.