MILK FLOATS

In British English, a milk float is a vehicle specifically designed for the delivery of fresh milk. Today, milk floats are usually battery electric vehicles (BEV), but they were formerly horse-drawn. They were once common in many European countries, particularly the United Kingdom, and were operated by local dairies. However, in recent years, as the number of supermarkets, small independent grocers and petrol stations stocking fresh milk has increased, most people have switched from regular home delivery to obtaining fresh milk from these other sources.

Characteristics

Because of the relatively small power output from its electric motor, a milk float travels fairly slowly, usually around 10 to 16 miles per hour (16 to 26 km/h) although some have been modified to do up to 80 mph (130 km/h). Operators often exit their vehicle before they have completely stopped to speed up deliveries; milk floats generally have sliding doors that can be left open when moving, or may have no doors at all. They are very quiet, suiting operations in residential areas during the early hours of the morning or during the night.

Statistics

In August 1967 the UK Electric Vehicle Association put out a press release stating that Britain had more battery-electric vehicles on its roads than the rest of the world put together It is not clear what research the association had undertaken into the electric vehicle populations of other countries, but closer inspection disclosed that almost all of the battery driven vehicles licensed for UK road use were milk floats.

Glasgow has one of the largest working milk float fleets in the UK. Most of the vehicles operate from the Grandtully Depot in Kelvindale. Some dairies in the UK, including Dairy Crest, have had to modernise and have replaced their electric milk floats with petrol or diesel fuel-powered vehicles to speed up deliveries and thus increase profit.


Manufacturers

Manufacturers of milk floats in Britain in the 20th century included Smith's, Wales & Edwards, Osborne, Harbilt, Brush, Bedford and British Leyland. In 1941 Morrison Electrics standardised three types of body which would become the basis for thousands of milk floats built after the war to deliver goods to the recovering population. As of 2009, only Bluebird Automotive remain in the industry. See below.


Alternatives

Before BEVs, dairy supplies were delivered using horse-drawn milk floats. This lasted from the late 19th century until the 1950s. Today, with rounds expanding in coverage to ensure profitability in the face of falling levels of patronage, the limited range and speed of electric milk floats have resulted in many being replaced by diesel-powered converted vans.

Preservation

A collection of milk floats and other BEVs is kept by the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Trust at their museum, and in addition several milk floats are still in service today, albeit repurposed after their milk delivery days. Many are used for work in factories, or as pleasure vehicles in rural areas, and some are hired out to make money for film, pr and events.

BLUEBIRD AUTOMOTIVE

Bluebird Automotive revealed that their Chinese milk floats are in the final stages of development. The BE-1 electric 3.5t chassis cab is ready for production, which should begin in a couple of months time.

These carts have been engineered by the same team responsible for the electric Bluebirds planning attempts on the world land and water speed records. The BE-1 is far more prosaic. It is a practical, no-frills lead acid gel battery-powered load-shifter with a starting price of £24,995 and a bodywork/payload potential of 1,700kg.

Battery modules are housed in pods running down each side of the ladder frame chassis, designed to be removed and replaced within a few minutes. The prototype features a 6kW motor driving the rear wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox and its 12-strong battery pack can propel it to 30mph and endows it with a range of around 40 miles.

Energy and motor requirements can be tailored to operational needs and there’s already a 9kW option in the pipeline capable of 40mph. Additional batteries can be housed centrally underneath the chassis to increase the range potential if necessary. That’s the beauty of this relatively low-cost electric CV; it’s very adaptable depending on the operational duty cycle.

Bluebird has teamed up with a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer for production of the basic chassis cab with final assembly taking place in Wales. In the spirit of reciprocation it will be assembling and distributing vehicles like golf carts in Europe for its Chinese partner. Sales forecasts for BE-1 are modest at 150 for 2012, rising to around 1,000 by 2015.

As expected the prototype VansA2Z drove briefly was pretty rough and ready, but we like the thinking. It’s payload potential combined with low running costs, relatively cheap batteries to replace and a sensible up-front cost mean that the BE-1 is worth taking seriously. We look forward to trying out the finished product. It’s ideal for local urban high-payload deliveries on set routes, so don’t be surprised if the milkman turns up in one in the not too distant future.

EV Innovations Limited
The Bluebird Centre
The Old Market
Melville Street
Pembroke Dock
Pembrokeshire
SA72 6XR
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: 0845 456 0571

Company Registration Number 07918747

COMPANIES HOUSE WEBCHECK

LINKS:

Martin Rees

Bluebird Performance Engineering

Bluebird-BE-1-readied-for-production

Bluebird Automotive

EV Iinnovations

http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk//contact/contactUs.shtml

http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/martin-rees/6/805/a4b

http://www.bluebirdperformanceengineering.com/

http://www.ecovansa2z.com/Bluebird-BE-1-readied-for-production

http://www.bluebirdautomotive.com/

http://www.evinnovations.co.uk/

IP CRIME

Best practice

The Intellectual Property Office and its partners have undertaken a wide variety of awareness raising activities for industry, enforcement officers and consumers to highlight the threat posed by IP crime. We have also developed a number of information products, events and contacts for the enforcement community.

IP crime group

Founded by the Intellectual Property Office in 2004, the purpose of the IP crime group is to bring together Government, enforcement agencies and industry groups to ensure a collaborative approach in addressing IP crime issues.

IP crime report

The main aim of the IP crime report is to establish an accurate measurement of IP crime within the United Kingdom.

Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) seeks to coordinate international cooperation on IPR enforcement practices, to tackle effectively counterfeit and pirated goods. It is an agreement currently being negotiated by a number of countries that include the USA, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom as part of the European Union.

This website is Copyright © 2014 Bluebird Marine Systems Ltd.   The names Bluebird, Bluefish, Ecostar DC50™, Utopia Tristar™ and the blue bird in flight logo are  trademarks. All other trademarks are hereby acknowledged. The color blue is a protected element of the mark..