Why British Gas Switched to LEGEND Floors and Ceiling Liners Across Its Van Fleet

Over 7,500 vans. Every one of them a mobile workshop, out on the road every day, in every kind of weather.

British Gas engineers travel the length of the UK to install, maintain and repair boilers, heating systems and other essential energy equipment for homes and businesses. Their vans carry the tools and materials they need to get the job done first time, so the vans have to work as hard as they do.

At that scale, every decision is multiplied. A small change on one van becomes a big change across thousands. That’s why British Gas now fits LEGEND floors and ceiling liners across its fleet, and why its Fleet Engineer, Matthew Harris, sat down with us to explain the switch.

It Started with Condensation

British Gas first came to LEGEND with a problem that seemed impossible to fix. The construction of its vans meant the cargo areas were producing a layer of condensation, and on some vans it was severe.

We’ve had some vans where they look like they’ve been sprayed with a hosepipe inside… that’s how much condensation was running off the roof.

The damp wasn’t just annoying. It was causing rust, damaging equipment and making the cargo area a less safe place to work. For engineers who spend their working day in and around their van, that matters.

For eight hours a day, it’s where they live, so we want to make the vehicle as comfortable as we possibly can.

The answer was DuraTherm ceiling liners. DuraTherm is an insulated liner designed to protect the cargo area from extreme temperature changes, the kind that cause moisture build-up in an unprotected van. After a trial in a few vans, the difference was immediate: the condensation was gone. British Gas then rolled DuraTherm out across its fleet.

Our introduction to yourself started originally when we had a huge problem with condensation, hence the DuraTherm.

Read the full story of how DuraTherm solved British Gas’s condensation problem.

From Ceilings to Floors

While they were talking about DuraTherm, the British Gas fleet team started looking at LEGEND’s recycled floors too. They liked what they saw: a lighter floor, with better environmental credentials than plywood.

It was during the conversation about the DuraTherm lining that we then started to look at your recycled plastic floor offering. What came with that was the benefit of the weight saving, but also the environmental credentials.

It’s been LEGEND ever since.

Since that point going forward, we’ve only fitted your floors into our vehicles along with the ceiling lining.

Around 15kg Lighter Than Plywood

For Matthew, weight was the first thing that stood out.

Primarily, my interest was the fact that it was lighter than plywood.

Eclipse is LEGEND’s lightweight floor: a 10.6mm composite floor that’s 53% lighter than ply. On a British Gas van, that adds up to a real saving.

On a vehicle of this size, we’re saving approximately 15 kg of weight. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but that means we’ve got an additional 15 kg of payload over a conventional plywood floor.

Every kilo the floor doesn’t weigh is a kilo the van can carry in tools, parts and equipment. Find out more about how lighter floors and linings win back payload.

Better Grip in All Weathers

British Gas engineers don’t get to pick the weather. They’re in and out of the van all day, back and forth to customers’ homes in rain, frost and everything in between. A wet, slippery floor is a real risk.

We went to this flooring with the added benefits of wet weather, because our engineers have to work in all weathers. You know, back and forth to the house to the van.

Eclipse has an anti-slip, waterproof top skin, and Matthew noticed the difference straight away.

This is much more grippy on the foot than the phenolic coated plywood that we’ve traditionally used in the past.

One Sheet of Ply, Multiplied by Thousands

Sustainability is a priority for British Gas, and on a fleet this size every material choice has a big footprint.

We’re always looking for ways to be green and environmentally friendly. So the fact that this is a recycled material and it’s recyclable gives us a huge advantage over traditional phenolic coated plywood.

What looks like a small choice on one van becomes a big one across the whole fleet.

For a fleet of our size, everything we buy, you multiply that by many thousands. One sheet of plywood in one van in itself is not a major problem. One sheet of plywood in 7,500 to 8,000 vans is a bigger problem.

What It Means for the Fleet, and for the Legends of the Road

For the fleet manager, LEGEND helps tackle the challenges of running thousands of service vans:

• No more condensation damage in the cargo area

• Lighter vans with more payload capacity

• Better grip for engineers working in all weathers

• A lower environmental impact across the fleet

For British Gas engineers, the Legends of the Road, it means a drier, safer van to work from, with better grip underfoot as they move between the van and customers’ homes, and extra payload for the equipment they need on the job.

Built on LEGEND

British Gas’s Vauxhall Vivaro L2 vans are fitted with:

• DuraTherm Ceiling Liner (Grey): insulated, to keep condensation out of the cargo area.

• Eclipse Floor Kit with Trims: lightweight, anti-slip and waterproof.

See the full build on the British Gas x LEGEND page.

Learn more →