Trucking milestones: 1976 – ice cream in focus
Series: Trucking milestones
In 1976, a huge fleet of vehicles takes care of Schöller ice cream lovers. Including many with the iconic star, such as the LP 808.
What is, for many people, even worse than a rainy summer’s day? An empty ice-cream freezer in the supermarket or at the swimming pool on a sunny summer’s day! On average, Germans enjoyed almost 120 scoops of ice cream each last year. In some European countries, even more ice cream is consumed.
Ice cream manufacturers work really hard in order to guarantee constant supplies for all those out there with a sweet tooth. That was already the case in 1976, when Transport magazine reported on Schöller Lebensmittel KG – now FRONERI Schöller. At that time, the company was running one of the largest private fleets in what was then West Germany: more than 1,400 trucks and transporters with refrigeration units were in use – within a sophisticated distribution network.
The ice cream Mercedes has arrived!
The majority of these vehicles, which according to the long-standing Schöller slogan provided a “happy ice age”, bore the iconic star. Different trucks were used, depending on the task in hand. For medium distances, the LP 808 series was the Mercedes of choice. Long distances would be covered by the LP 1418. Distribution transport was managed with the L 406 D or the L 408. The fleet included a total of far more than 500 of these transporters alone.
Already more than four decades ago, such a large fleet had to be operated with maximum efficiency. As a basis for the corresponding calculations, the Schöller logistics experts used a filing card system. And the management team was as small as the fleet was big. Just ten employees were involved and a further ten carried out small repairs. That was enough to guarantee the customers: one call and the Schöller Mercedes is on its way!
Photos: Daimler AG
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