On Tuesday 22^nd October we attended the Whitby Morrison Annual Event 2019. Whitby Morrison are recognised as the world’s leading manufacturer of ice cream vans and the company has over 57 years of excellence in the business; their creations are truly remarkable!

When we stepped outside of Nantwich Town Football Club we were greeted by an array of colourful ice-cream vans. They had over 15 ice-cream vans on display, from their latest Mondial Lusso to their vintage vans from the Whitby Morrison Heritage Collection. There were even demo vans that were available to buy, like the ‘Rocket Van’ which is one of their most impressive vintage ice-cream vans and we can see why!

Speaking of vintage ice-cream vans, their heritage collection really displayed how far ice-cream vans have come along, it was like a walk through history. Whitby Morrison were showing a range of Bedford vans and an amazing Austin Devon conversion, which all still looked brand-new! Our personal favourite from the heritage collection had to be the blue and white Bedford, ‘Sir Softy’ we loved the colours and interior design.

Among their more modern vans we spotted one of our favourite van, which also happened to be their latest creation. ‘Partners in Cream’ is a Mondial Lusso Ice Cream Van that was built to give something back to the community; built in partnership with the Cheshire Police Cadets and Cheshire Youth Services.  We loved its detailing showing the route the van takes around Crewe, which is the home of Whitby Morrison and Van Demon, so it was great to see a local community van!  

We were truly astounded by the overall detail of all vans that were on display, we were told by a Whitby Morrison employee that some of the detailing on certain vans was hand painted and we couldn’t believe it! There is one man from the company who primarily does all the hand-painting himself on the vans; you can really tell a lot of passion goes into every detail of these Whitby Morrison ice-cream vans. We spotted designs ranging from your more traditional ice creams and old-school Mickey Mouse, to up to date designs from films like Tangled.

Whitby Morrison also had on display a Mercedes Sprinter vehicle base; seeing this next to finished vans was fascinating! The transformation really shows how much time and effort goes into each one.

The process of getting the vans from the chassis to the finished product is long and detailed. It begins with the chassis preparation, then the bodywork and interior components are manufactured and fitted. Following this, the refrigeration system is fabricated and then the soft ice cream machine is fitted and commissioned. The final step of the conversion is the paint process and then the signwriting and artwork are applied before the final checks and tests.

We were lucky enough to speak to a couple of the Whitby Morrison employees who work on the vans at every stage and they gave us a real insight on what it is like to work for the company…

What vans do you typically use for the Ice-cream vans?

Usually we use a Mercedes Sprinter chassis as the base vehicle for the conversions, but we do also work on Ford Transits from time to time. Customers can also request for us to work on other vehicle bases, and we have worked on VW Transporters and Crafters in the past.

What’s your favourite van that you have worked on?

It has got to be the London Eye van as it was the most comprehensive van we have ever produced. It was exciting working on it because of where it was going to be pitched and how much of a success it was going to be, we were proud of that van.

What is a typical day for you at Whitby Morrison?

Well each van is different, so each day is also different; no two days are the same at Whitby Morrison. We all have sets jobs along the production line, some build the interiors, while others strengthen the vehicle base, add the body and fit the parts. There is usually two of us working on the same van for a week before it moves along to the next department.

How many ice-cream vans do you usually finish in a year?

On average we make one hundred vans a year, maybe more. One regular conversion can take up to 6 weeks for it to all be finished but the bespoke vans can take up to 8 weeks, it does all depend on the design the customer wants.

Our highlight of the day was having a go at pulling our own ice-cream from ‘Edd’s Electric Ices’. It’s safe to say we maybe don’t have a future as an ice-cream woman! But even in the cold, the ice-cream tasted superb!

Overall, we had a great day at the Whitby Morrison Event 2019 and would like to thank them for letting us join them to celebrate their success.

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