Businesses in need of additional blast freezing capacity are benefitting from a new two-week turnaround service introduced by cold storage specialists Blue Cube.

The Blue Cube ‘Fast Blast’ delivery service means customers can get additional capacity on their sites within 14 days.

The team’s current record installation time for a wholesale bakery based in the south of England was just four days after the customer first made an enquiry.

Blue Cube technology also means that once the units are on site, they work faster than standard equipment allowing customers to freeze more products in the same amount of time.

One raw meat supplier is now freezing twice as much product in one day than they were able to with their previous unit.

And by using less energy, the Blue Cube units are also significantly reducing electricity bills, meaning customers are saving time and money as well as cutting their carbon footprints.

Project Engineer Paul Hughes explained: “Speed is so important in the cold chain and we want to make sure companies have the facilities they need as soon as possible.

“We’ve had customers call us who’ve been having to wait two or three months to get more units on site. That can feel like a lifetime when there’s work to be done.

“I like to think we’ve always been fast and flexible at Blue Cube, but the new processes we have introduced have really streamlined our capabilities and mean we can deliver faster than ever before.

“The guy we delivered to in four days still can’t believe it! He called us on the Monday and he was putting product in his new unit on the Friday!

“We needed a crane for that install but that isn’t a problem. It was still up and running the same week the customer first contacted us. That’s just what we can do now.”

Blue Cube’s Fast Blast offer is a co-ordinated service provided by the team at office headquarters in Stafford and the operational team based in Tuxford.

Units can be delivered throughout the UK to customers in the food, maritime, pharmaceutical, manufacturing and distribution industries.

The Blue Cube team monitors all new units centrally via a live status dashboard and support is available 24/7. Remote intelligence ensures engineers can support customers in maximising uptime and reducing costs.

Don’t miss last week’s webinar presented by Annemarie Joyce, Pre-Sales Specialist at Safefood 360°, and John Figgins, Senior Technical Manager at BRCGS.

Learn about the most common nonconformities identified under BRCGS Issue 9 and gain insights into the typical root causes behind these nonconformities.

The session includes a practical demonstration of how Safefood 360° platform addresses these challenges.

Watch it on-demand via The FSQ Network: https://fsqnetwork.com/videos/brcgs-food-safety-issue-9-analysis-of-non-conformities

The purpose of the Virtual Trade Mission is fourfold:

1. To help promote Ukrainian exports – Ukraine is open for business notwithstanding the war with Russia.
2. To publicise and explain how the reconstruction program will be implemented once the fighting has stopped and the opportunities that there will then be for exporters.
3. There will be short, pragmatic presentations by: the ICC Ukraine, the ICC UK, DHL, DHL GoTrade, IncoDocs, IC&Partners, The British Chambers of Commerce’s ChamberCustoms …. and others. All explaining the opportunities that are on offer and how to benefit from them.
4. Their presence will show much needed solidarity with Ukraine.

The benefits to British companies are:

1. Diversification of your supply chain. (and the UK government signed the two free trade agreements mentioned above to facilitate bilateral trade).
2. By understanding the export opportunities that will definitely come, they can better prepare for the scramble for contracts that will inevitably come – get ahead of the queue.

As part of the sponsorship agreements that ICC has obtained, they are able to offer:

1. Free registration as delegates to representatives of British companies and organisations.
2. Free allocation of virtual stands to members of the BFFF. (There would normally be a charge of £249+VAT.)

How to Participate?

1. To participate as a delegate, you simply have to register.
2. To take the offer of having a virtual stand, choose that option, then when you get to the payment page, just use the coupon VTMUAUKFREE and the cost will be reduced to zero.

For more information, please visit ICC Ukraine’s website – or register today – 

Brakes, the UK’s leading foodservice wholesaler, has announced a package of activity to support care home caterers to deliver a Christmas to remember.

The company has developed a section on its award-winning website to include a range of downloadable recipe cards and menu planners, delivering inspiration for care home caterers looking for innovative Christmas recipes. It has also added themed quizzes that can be downloaded to provide residents with some festive fun.

As part of the campaign, Brakes’ development chef, Olli Smith, has developed a new video that shows care caterers how to adapt the traditional Christmas dinner into an IDDSI Level 4 meal.

Paul Nieduszynski, Chief Executive Officer for Sysco GB, said: “Christmas is a really important time for care home residents and making sure that Christmas food meets their needs and expectations is crucial for a successful festive season.

“It’s vital that, even when a person can no longer eat a meal with the regular texture, caterers have the knowledge and confidence to adapt a meal so that all residents can enjoy the Christmas meal together. Our Christmas package will help care homes to not only create great dishes, but also provide some fun while they eat it!”