MILK LINK has awarded a major milk haulage contract to West Devon firm Gregory Distribution. The new long-term contract will provide Milk Link with a haulage service for both ex-farm and re-load deliveries. Following 12 years of successful collaboration between Gregory Distribution, Milk Link and its predecessors, the new five-year contract secures for Gregory Distribution all Milk Link operations south of the M4 from Cornwall to Hampshire. This includes the collection of the majority of milk produced by Milk Link?s farmer members, amounting to 1.4-billion litres. The North Tawton firm will also handle the onwards transportation to the co-operative?s own processing facilities and third party customers. Milk Link?s Barry Nicholls said: ?We are delighted to be working in partnership with Gregory Distribution. ?Haulage of raw milk is one of Milk Link?s major business costs and our central objective in awarding this contract was to secure improved cost efficiencies and service levels. ?I am pleased to say that Gregory?s have responded to this brief through the delivery of a highly tailored service and investment in a new highly efficient tanker fleet.? John Gregory added: ?At a time when the dairy industry has been facing serious commercial pressures, this new and extended contract reflects the degree of innovation, flexibility and competitive edge Gregory Distribution has brought to the sector over the last 12 years.? The move also increases Gregory?s dairy-related depots to seven, including four in Devon and Cornwall with new operations in Somerset, Dorset and Hampshire, requiring 70 specialist vehicles collecting almost four million litres of milk per day from 2,500 farms. This is supported by 50 transhipment vehicles and a committed staff of 350. In total, the fleet will travel some 22 million kilometres a year or 60,000 kilometres every day. Central to the new contract are increased productivity levels, resulting from major investment and innovation by Gregory Distribution who have had a new generation of milk tankers designed and manufactured to their own exacting specification. The firm say the new fleet of eight-wheeled, 32 tonne rigid vehicles have improved manoeuvrability affording easier access to all Milk Link members? farms and will increase capacity helping to drive costs down. The ground-breaking design was formulated at Gregory?s Cullompton depot and incorporates unique safety measures, including rear cameras, lifting and steering rear axles and low level tanker access, preventing the possibility of drivers falling from height. The vehicles are also fitted with high speed pumping equipment, which will allow the milk to be collected and offloaded at 50,000 litres per hour in the region of twice as fast as the existing equipment. The first 20 of the new vehicles represent an initial investment of over £2-million and are currently being introduced into daily operation. In addition Gregory Distribution have also purchased Milk Link?s existing tanker fleet.