Background
Set in one of Wales’ most lush and beautiful farming areas, this fine food company is a family owned business with a long history of producing some of Wales’ most renowned cheeses. The company prides itself on using traditional cheesemaking methods, producing small batches that are hand waxed, creating a handcrafted, artisan feel and taste. For a clean, handmade flavour they use only locally sourced milk.
The company is one of the UK’s largest and most successful producer of fresh goats cheese and attributes its success to the strong relationships it has built with its farming partners. As one of the pioneers of goats cheese production, the company is renowned for its innovative ideas and powerful flavours.
The Challenge
In July 2015 company’s main production facility was severely damaged by a fire. In a desperate bid to avoid production delays as a result of the damage to the facility, the company turned to AHR for urgent assistance to help reinstate chill production at an alternative site.
Time was of the essence for the business, with a plethora of orders to fulfil to its global customer base, the chilling aspect of the cheese production was integral to the manufacturing process. The cheese required to be chilled to enable it to be handled whilst cool – without leaving finger marks before the cheese is hand coated in wax.
The Solution
The company’s initial urgency was to store approximately 6-pallets of soft goats cheese at chill temperature – any kit ideally to be positioned within an existing warehouse.
AHR swiftly deployed a surveyor to assess the site and to formulate the best possible solution for the client.
Upon inspection, it became clear that the proposed site for the chill unit was indeed challenging. The warehouse had poor access and a low roller shutter door entrance. The building had also been previously fitted out with insulated panels. The most methodical and cost-effective solution was to utilise the existing building and build a purpose-built chill room within the warehouse. This proposal ensured the maximum utilisation of the existing floor space and imperatively secured a continuous level route for the motorised pallet trucks.
The finished room was 5m x 5m x 2.65m high with a hinged door 1.500m wide x 2000m high incorporating a clear opening to suit the pallet movements. A 3-phase remote refrigeration system was also installed to maintain a temperature of 2-5°C.
From the date of enquiry to handover was just 21 working days and because the solution was tailored exactly to the customer needs and had run efficiently – at the end of the rental agreement the client requested to purchase the unit in its entirety.
