Tyson Foods has partnered with Gatik AI to introduce a fleet of refrigerated box trucks that will shuttle among plants in northwest Arkansas. The program is based on an 18-hour per day operation with box trucks transferring packaged products from plants to distribution centers and storage facilities in the Rogers and Springdale AR. region. Each autonomous vehicle is equipped with a 26-foot temperature-controlled body specially designed to convey frozen items over short distances. During the initial stage of implementation, safety drivers will be present in cabs.
Patrick Simmons, VP of transportation for Tyson Foods stated, “Our partnership with Gatik allows us to strategically place our drivers where they are needed most while all will still reliably and safely transport protein from plants distribution centers.
Gatik has considerable experience in autonomous short distance transport focusing on short-haul business-to-business cooperation with major companies. Founded in 2017 by veterans of the emerging autonomous vehicle industry, the company has earned a number of prestigious awards for innovation. Currently Gatik vehicles operate in two states in the U.S. and in the province of Ontario, Canada.