World News

Industry news and insights from Europe and around the World

UK News

Latest news and developments in the United Kingdom

Products

Keep up-to-date with the latest new products and technology

Features

General articles, applications and industry analysis

Thermo King/Frigoblock are quiet winners

Quiet winners (l to r): Sonia Phippard (DEFRA), Steve Williams (Thermo King), Jon Jerrard-Dinn (Frigoblock), Natalie Chapman (Freight Transport Association)

BELGIUM: The quiet sustainability of Ingersoll Rand’s transport refrigeration brands Thermo King and Frigoblock have been recognised by the UK’s Noise Abatement Society.

Thermo King and Frigoblock won the Quiet Logistics category in this year’s John Connell Award. This award recognises advances in low-noise technology, equipment and operations to facilitate safe, low-noise and efficient urban delivery services.

The Noise Abatement Society was established by John Connell in 1959 with the charitable aims of raising awareness of, and finding solutions to, noise pollution.

The Ingersoll Rand brands were recognised for their “market first” technologies designed to “future-proof” transport refrigeration today by addressing sustainability issues, regulatory requirements and optimising fleet operations by harnessing the power of electricity, data and clean technology.

Steve Williams, area sales manager at Thermo King, and Frigoblock’s key account manager Jon Jerrard-Din joined the other winners on stage at the awards ceremony on October 24 at the Palace of Westminster in London.

“We are pleased to be recognised for our efforts to make refrigerated transport more sustainable and quieter,” said Williams. ”In recent years, we have had an increasing number of requests from customers asking for our help in proposing solutions to address the issue of noise in urban areas. We have worked hard to develop and introduce a number of solutions that today help transport companies address the concerns of the urban communities. These solutions aim at improving the quality of life in the cities with low noise and low emission operations and we will continue to innovate and lead the market in this direction.”

“For years we have been working with retail and distribution customers in the UK to address noise and engine emissions concerns during deliveries in urban areas,” said Jerrard-Din. “Frigoblock refrigeration units eliminate the need for an auxiliary diesel engine in the refrigeration unit and the associated noise. These units can also be combined with natural gas engine trucks, which gives transport companies one of the cleanest and quietest truck and trailer combinations in the market.”

Technologies

The SLXi Hybrid is Thermo King and Frigoblock’s hybrid solution to eliminate engine noise from trailer refrigeration units. It is designed to answer the demand for solutions that will give transport companies easier access to restricted, low-emission urban areas while lowering their environmental footprint and operating costs.

SLXi Hybrid units use geofencing feature to transition the unit’s operation from diesel engine to electric mode on suitably equipped trucks when they enter pre-defined urban or noise sensitive areas.

Another one of the “market first” technologies is the new E-200, full-electric refrigeration unit. The E-200, designed for both electric and engine-powered vans and trucks below 3.5 tons, is said to provide constant capacity and performance independently of the vehicle’s operation.

The E-200 is said to use components never seen before in the refrigerated transport industry. Chief among these is a new controller that can adapt the capacity based on the actual need, available power and manage different available power sources at the same time.

Latest News

11th April 2026

Flammable refrigerants explained

DENMARK: Danfoss is to tackle the topic of flammable refrigerants in the next of its RETHINK Live series of virtual events. 
11th April 2026

Marathon challenge for Panasonic heat pump

UK: Rikki Field, an engineer with London-based contractor Salix Mechanical, is set to run the London Marathon with a Panasonic Etherea heat pump on his back.
11th April 2026

Project proves heat pumps can assist the grid

GERMANY: Viessmann, along with transmission system operators TenneT Germany and TransnetBW claim to have demonstrated that heat pumps can help prevent grid congestion.
10th April 2026

Africa and China sign MoU

CHINA: U‑3ARC, the Union of African Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Associations, has signed a signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese Association of Refrigeration.
10th April 2026

Heat pumps replace gas boilers at Surrey offices

The three Climaveneta EW-HT water-to-water heat pumps UK: The refurbishment of a landmark 70,000ft2 Surrey office block has seen gas-fired boilers and air-to-water cooling systems replaced with Mitsubishi Electric heat…
9th April 2026

Retail CO2 systems in Europe exceed 100,000

BELGIUM: Installations of transcritical CO2 systems in European food retail establishments exceeded 100,000 last year, according to new estimates from market development company ATMOsphere.