gategourmet UK and Ireland have taken a step forward in their ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) goals by introducing a new electric van to their fleet of vehicles.
This marks the first bespoke electric van for the UK and Ireland business. The unveiling ceremony of this new van took place at Truck Racing Donnington Park on the weekend of August 10-11. Twenty gate group employees and their families attended this two-day event after winning tickets through a company raffle sponsored by Northside Truck and Van. At the event, they had the opportunity to watch 8-time British Truck Racing Champion Ryan Smith, who won several races over the two-day meeting, and to gain a firsthand look at the activities in the pit lanes and paddocks.
The edition vans were introduced in September and are part of the broader gate group UK fleet strategy as it moves from petrol and diesel vehicles to new, cleaner technologies.
The vans have been sourced through Northside Truck and Van and commercial preferred Mercedes Benz vehicle leasing companies. They use a Renault and Mercedes Benz chassis with an 8-year warranty. These vans will be equipped with telematics to standardize tracking across the European fleet, allowing the team to monitor their performance as data accumulates over time.
Martin Quy, gategourmet UK and Ireland Transport Manager, expressed his satisfaction, saying, “It’s great to see the first new electric gategroup van with the new gategroup livery out on the road in Birmingham. Not only have we seen a positive impact in terms of staff and customer feedback, but we’ve also been impressed at this early stage with the van’s efficiency, especially for our airport locations, which are already equipped with EV chargers. We will continue working with Northside Mercedes to upgrade more vans across all our units in the UK in the coming months. gategroup is committed to protecting our planet, and these new vehicles are a positive next step in reducing our impact on the environment.”
About gategroup
gategroup is the global leader in airline catering, retail-on-board and hospitality products and services. They provide passengers with superior culinary and retail experiences, leveraging innovation and advanced technology solutions. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, gategroup delivers operational excellence through the most extensive catering network in the aviation industry, serving more than 700 million passengers annually from over 200 operating units in over 60 countries/territories across all continents. For further information, please visit www.gategroup.com.
