Doubling up on double-deck: James Hall & Co. scales Sunswap fleet with second order

SPAR North of England wholesaler and distributor commits to second order of Sunswap’s electric refrigeration across ambient, chilled and frozen operations

James Hall & Co., the primary retailer, wholesaler, and distributor for SPAR UK in the North of England, has placed a second order for Sunswap's Endurance electric transport refrigeration units, bringing its total to eight across the fleet.

The family-owned wholesaler, founded in 1863, first deployed Endurance across its double-deck trailer fleet in the summer of 2025. The repeat order reflects the performance of those units in daily commercial operation.

Ian Farnworth, Fleet Engineering Manager at James Hall & Co., said: "We needed refrigeration that could handle three temperature zones across a double-deck trailer on demanding multi-drop routes across the North of England.

“We have found that Sunswap’s Endurance unit does the job, delivering fresh food without the footprint. We have operational support from the company too and we are pleased to order more Endurance units to support the ongoing modernisation of our fleet."

Each Endurance unit reduces refrigeration operating costs and produces zero direct emissions, running multi-temperature ambient, chilled, and frozen compartments simultaneously across both decks.

This enables the company to deliver its full range of products to SPAR stores six days a week from its SPAR Distribution Centre in Preston, on routes covering approximately 100,000 kilometres annually.

Endurance is charged via three-phase connection, and integrated trailer-top solar reduces how much the unit draws from the grid, cutting costs and extending range.

Behind the unit, Sunswap's software monitors performance continuously across the fleet. Operators see temperature, utilisation, and asset performance in one place -the kind of visibility that makes refrigeration easier to manage, easier to predict, and harder to lose margin to. When something needs attention, Sunswap's service team sees it before it becomes a problem.

Alastair Gough, Head of Business Development at Sunswap, said: "James Hall &Co.’s second order is a strong reflection of both the Sunswap system's capabilities and the level of service we provide. Their operations demand flexibility across a wide range of applications - from triple-temperature, double-deck trailers through to multi-temperature single-deckers - and it was essential to deliver a solution that could meet those requirements without compromise.

This repeat order is a clear vote of confidence in our product and our team. It demonstrates that businesses looking to transition away from diesel refrigeration can do so with certainty.

Thank you to Ian Farnworth and the James Hall & Co. team for their second order and continued commitment to Sunswap. We’re proud to support you in your transition to a fully electric reefer fleet.."