Brighton & Newhaven Fish Sales has added a seventh Mercedes-Benz Sprinter to its fleet, all of which have refrigerated conversions.

Operating from a quayside wholesale base and retail outlet at Shoreham Harbour, next to Hove Lagoon, the company sells high-quality, day-caught local fish and shellfish.

The latest van, a Medium-length 313 CDI model with fuel-efficient 129 hp engine, represents an extension to the fleet and was commissioned to help the firm meet increasing demand from hotels, restaurants, caterers and other trade customers.

“Having landed the fish, we load our vans and get them out on the road by 6am each day,” said Charlie Brock, wholesale manager. “It’s a multi-drop regime – we send one vehicle into London every day and make other deliveries throughout the South-East.

“We tell our customers that we’ll be there when they want us to be there, and we get the same level of service from Rossetts Commercials. We’re not a nine-to-five business so as far as routine maintenance and any running repairs are concerned, we need to get the work done at times which suit us.

“We like people who deliver on their promises and Rossetts’ 24-hour workshop team provide a brilliant service. We can drop our vehicles off in the afternoon and get them worked on during the night, so they’re always available for use when we need them.”

“When you’re carrying a product like wet fish, though, reliability is the single most important attribute in a vehicle and that’s certainly what we get from our Sprinters. On the rare occasion that we have had a problem the dealer’s response has been very good; if Rossetts have not been able to fix it in time for use the next day then they’ve arranged a replacement refrigerated vehicle – a standard van is no good to us – so there’s been no impact on our operation.”