Service Announcements: C.R. England, Daikin Reefer, CEVA and U-Freight America

C.R. England increases driver pay, Daikin Reefer launches new Active CA device, CEVA Logistics opens local distribution center for Magneti Marelli in Italy and U-Freight America moves HQ.    C.R. England raised pay rates for drivers in its National and Western regional divisions, effective March 19. Brandon Harrison, COO of the Salt Lake City, Utah-based trucking company, said in a statement the average wage increase is 26 percent, but depends on driver tenure, length of haul and other factors.
   “There has never been a better time for a driver to become part of our elite teaming force,” said Harrison said. “Our team driving jobs are some of the best in the industry, offering a unique opportunity to enjoy driving many miles and benefit from running some of the longest length of haul shipments in the industry, while taking advantage of tremendous financial rewards.”

   Container refrigeration machinery supplier Daikin Reefer introduced its new “Active CA” (controlled atmosphere) device for refrigerated containers transporting perishable goods.
   According to a statement from the company, “CA slows down the aging process that food and other sensitive perishable products undergo during transit, allowing them to be transported in better condition for longer periods of time and extending shelf life.”
   The Daikin Active CA system, based on active atmosphere separation technology called vacuum pressure swing adsorption, uses the mineral adsorbent zeolite to capture nitrogen from the air and transfer it into the reefer container, reducing oxygen levels quickly and without the need for additional gas.
   Developed initially for use in the medical industry, the Active CA system continuously controls the air composition inside a reefer container during transit to maintain the container’s carbon dioxide level.
   Daikin said the company has already supplied an international shipping line with 50 of the new Active CA machines, which will be fitted on the carrier’s reefer containers from the end of February 2015.

   CEVA Logistics opened a local distribution center for Magneti Marelli After Market Parts and Services at the intermodal logistics center in Padua Interporto, Italy. The 1,600-square-meter facility features 5,000 shelf locations and is entirely managed by RFID, which is supported by CEVA’s technology suite CEVA Matrix.
   Orders will be delivered to Magneti Marelli’s customers in the Triveneto, Bolzano and Trento areas twice a day, with a cut-off of 6 p.m. (local time) for morning orders and 1 p.m. the next day for those received in the afternoon.
   “Magneti Marelli needed a further improvement of delivery speed in Triveneto, a strategic area for our sales,” said Marco Manzi, CFO of Magneti Marelli After Market Parts and Services. “The strong partnership with CEVA has allowed us to transform, in a very short time, a local distribution center into a logistics center with excellent infrastructure. Thanks to this solution, we can now guarantee deliveries in a shortened time frame, increasing the satisfaction among our final users.”

   The U.S. subsidiary of international freight service and logistics group U-Freight, U-Freight America Inc., has moved into a new headquarters in San Francisco, Calif.
   The 5,300-square-foot office will house U-Freight America’s sales, accounting, customer service and administration teams, as well as staff from the company’s NVOCC, U-Ocean. 
   The company said in a statement it will also maintain a logistics warehouse at the San Francisco International airport.