Passion for good, fresh food and a field to fork philosophy drives family owned business, Linroyale of North Lincs, to produce the finest quality potatoes. The firm specialises in washing, grading and packing potatoes; selecting the best from each crop and preparing them for retail. The company applied the same ethos to choosing a new generator – deciding the best of the crop was a JCBG275QX.
The generator delivers 250kVA (200kW) of prime operating power at 50Hz to the modern processing facility which is located in the prime fruit and vegetable growing region between Lincoln and Doncaster. For Managing Director, Stewart Clark, the JCB has renewed his faith in generators as a prime power source following two bad experiences with competitive models. With the first he encountered perpetual breakdowns and poor fuel economy whilst the second eco-friendly unit lasted 450 hours until the engine exploded.
Desperate to seek a solution – and as an owner of fuel-efficient Scania trucks – Stewart searched the internet on the off chance of finding a Scania generator. His search led to JCB Power Generation and a comprehensive range of top quality, fuel efficient generators featuring Scania engines in the power category required. Via Watling JCB, his local dealer, he negotiated a deal for a G275QX to include a service contract and 5-year warranty. The generator, which features LiveLink telematics as standard, has not only provided reliable, efficient power round the clock, but has helped him to monitor load phasing, fuel efficiency and any potential faults.
“LiveLink has been a revelation to me. I can go on my computer in the morning and monitor what fuel the generator has used overnight. I know exactly how many hours it has run and what power it has generated at the click of a button. I can see any fluctuations in power and remedy what has happened much quicker.”
Indeed Stewart has a perfect example of just how beneficial the LiveLink telematics has proved to be. A routine check on the system from home one weekend showed that the generator was working much harder than normal. This was causing the coolers in the potato warehouse to work abnormally hard; particularly strange for a weekend when the load on the generator is generally lighter. Upon physical inspection of the storage area a batch of bad potatoes was discovered and disposed of. Rotting vegetables produce heat which was forcing the coolers to work harder. The discovery – thanks to LiveLink remote monitoring – managed to avert potential customer issues and enabled normal working loads to resume immediately.
“The generator has run already for 2000 hours and has not missed a beat. We can prepare for routine maintenance or a service in advance thanks to the Telematics. Fuel consumption is one of the biggest bonuses. The JCB genset literally sips diesel; it’s unbelievable. We can run two stores at just 10.7 litres per hour – before we were up to 26 litres/hour. You can’t get any better than the way JCB has treated me. I would recommend JCB to anyone purchasing a generator of any type.”