Tues 18th Nov, Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, London

BIDCORP UK ANNOUNCES THE ASSET ACQUISITION OF NORTHERN BLOC ICE CREAM

Posted on by Billy Moone

Bidcorp UK has announced their latest acquisition of the trade and assets of Northern Bloc Ice Cream Ltd, an independently run ice cream manufacturer supplying retail and food service customers including Booths, the National Trust and Wagamama.

The Leeds-based business, which opened its doors in 2014, offers an impressive range of quality and natural products including vegan, bespoke and bold ice creams in various innovative flavour profiles. They also have a low-sugar ice cream range for children and an ice cream for dogs supporting the Dogs Trust.

Northern Bloc will join Bidcorp UK’s network of manufacturing businesses, which includes Simply Food Solutions and Yarde Farm, and will continue to trade under its well established name.

Jim Gouldie, Supply Chain and Technical Services Director at Bidfood UK said: “We’re delighted to welcome Dirk Mischendahl, Managing Director, and the Northern Bloc team to our Bidcorp UK family.

“Their passion, ethical ethos and reputation for providing great-tasting products at an excellent service completely resonates with our core mission and values. We look forward to supporting the team and expanding their brand presence through multiple routes to market.”

Dirk Mischendahl, Managing Director at Northern Bloc added: “We are very excited about joining the Bidcorp UK group and having the opportunity to continue the journey we started in 2014, creating great flavours and making ice cream centre of plate!”

AQUA BACKS UK MANUFACTURING WITH NEW NORTHERN FACILITY

Posted on by Sue Davis

Temperature control company, Aqua Cooling Limited, are launching a second office in the North of England, which will include a brand-new manufacturing facility.

Based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, the site offers warehousing, offices, a large rear yard of over 0.7 acres and a fabrication shop. The latter will be home to Aqua’s mechanical services team who will manufacture a range of products including custom built chillers and pump skids.  In addition, they’ll be able to carry out product modifications in-house as well as onsite fabrication and installation works for clients.

“Finding a new, permanent home for the mechanical services team will enable us to increase our UK manufacturing capability” explains Ben Harris, Aqua’s Mechanical Services Manager. “We’ll manufacture bespoke products and systems at Scunthorpe, rather than overseas so it will bring both manufacturing, and employment opportunities to the local area.”

The site will also allow Aqua to store more of their rental fleet locally, as well as stock units and will provide a second base for their Northern team of Hire, Sales, and Service Engineers to work from.

Part of South Park Industrial Estate, the new office is just 3 miles from Scunthorpe town centre, 5 miles from the motorway and has easy access to nearby air and rail links.

Aqua already have a Head Office near Southampton, as well as regional sites in Glasgow and Leeds.  The company have over 23+ years’ experience of the temperature control sector, designing, installing, and servicing a range of solutions for purchase or hire.

“Our Scunthorpe site will mean we’re even closer to our customers, offering them quicker turn arounds than ever before, along with easy access to more of the Aqua team” explains Regional Sales Manager, Mark Whittaker.

“It’s such a positive step for Aqua as a business, it supports our growth plans and I hope demonstrates to our customers that we’re committed to serving the region for the long term.”

For more information on Aqua’s products and services, call the team on 0333 044 4433 or visit aquacooling.co.uk

BUILDING EXTERIOR NOW COMPLETED FOR MAGNAVALE EASTON COLD STORE

Posted on by shane.meharg@magnavale.co.uk

Magnavale, a leading provider of temperature-controlled storage solutions, today announced a significant milestone in the construction of its new state-of-the-art facility, Magnavale Easton. With the finish line rapidly approaching in Q3 2024, the company is pleased to confirm that the external structure of the 101,000-pallet temperature-controlled facility is now complete.

Along with the completion of the cladding, the Magnavale areas of the Sadel Food Hub are taking shape, with the yard works, including the car park, truck park, and internal roadways, progressing steadily in the background throughout the spring and early summer.

“Seeing the external structure of Easton complete is a huge milestone for all the teams that have been working on the development, and our Maganavale Easton team already working on site who are seeing the site being rapidly regenerated,” said Amanda Cogan, Chief Operating Officer at Magnavale. “Once operational, the facility will play a critical role in supporting food production in Lincolnshire as well as surrounding locations.”

A crucial component of this new facility is the installation of an oxygen reduction system, which is currently underway. This cutting-edge technology ensures that it is almost impossible for a fire to start, thereby safeguarding stock from fire and the water damage associated with traditional sprinkler systems.

Magnavale has partnered with Swisslog, a leading automation solution provider, to implement a highly advanced automated storage and retrieval system. With the racking, monorails and control systems now installed, extensive testing and commissioning is now being undertaken. The first test pallets have successfully already made their way from the loading bays into the high bay and back out for dispatch, displaying the system’s impressive functionality.

Developed by industry experts, the temperature-controlled facility has been designed to prevent disruptions during peak operational periods like the Christmas season, with multiple pallet ingress and egress points to avoid bottlenecks, as well as built-in redundancy planning with no single point of failure.

“As we approach the final stretch, our team remains dedicated to delivering a world-class temperature-controlled facility that will revolutionise our operations and set new standards in the industry,” added Amanda Cogan.

For more information about temperature-controlled storage at Magnavale Easton, please visit www.magnavale.co.uk or email enquiries@magnavale.co.uk.

LIEBHERR LAUNCHES NEW FULL GLASS DOOR FREEZER RANGE, CLIFF, TO UK FOOD RETAILER MARKET FOLLOWING 2024 RED DOT DESIGN AWARD WIN

Posted on by Songley

Specialists in commercial refrigeration, German manufacturer Liebherr is proud to announce it has been awarded the 2024 Red Dot Design Award for Product Design for its new full glass door freezer range, Cliff, that will be launching to the UK market this month

The Red Dot Awards are globally acknowledged as one of the most prestigious design competitions in the industry. As a result, the Red Dot label is one of the most sought-after marks of exceptionally high-quality design. Products are evaluated on four basic principles of design; functional quality, appeal, user-friendliness and a sense of responsibility.

Designed by professionals for professionals, Liebherr’s full glass door freezer range, Cliff, has been successful in becoming a Red Dot winner for 2024. Inclusive of models Cliff 156 (2-door) and Cliff 234 (3-door), Cliff has been designed to meet the demands and requirements of supermarkets.

Comprising a single freezer design that can be connected to create a singular and seamless freezer wall, Cliff combines first-class design and functionality to provide supermarket retailers a low maintenance and highly energy efficient freezing solution that can perfectly fit into any supermarket space.

With an industry-leading class B energy rating, the new range has been designed to ensure units can be opened without causing excess energy consumption thanks to its internal self-closing mechanism; guaranteeing unmatched energy efficiency and low operating costs. For example, the 3-door appliance model, Cliff 234 (3-door), requires only 15.9 kWh per day to run, which is significantly lower energy consumption than other comparable products on the market.

Cliff’s ergonomic 1.67m interior height has been designed for consumers to easily reach merchandise from any height, and its flexible interior shelving options allow retailers flexibility to implement campaigns and offers with an ease not possible with permanently positioned alternatives. With an elegant frameless finish, featuring an option for a sleek glass end panel, Cliff allows an unrestricted side view of the interior. Additionally, Cliff also features a new external interface that features real time temperature display and audio-visual alarms that connect to an independent monitoring system.

Liebherr guarantees a 2-year parts and labour warranty as standard across all its food retail appliances. Promising reliability, high quality, and longevity, Liebherr food retail appliances, including the new Cliff Full Glass Door Freezers, are engineered to offer a lower long-term total cost of ownership (TCO).

Stephen Ongley, UK Business & Industry National Sales Manager at Liebherr, comments on the UK launch and award win: “We’re extremely excited to be launching the new Cliff Full Glass Door Freezer to the UK market. Having been market tested for over a year, it’s truly an honour to have the Cliff range recognised by one of the world’s largest and most prestigious design competitions.

At Liebherr we understand the needs of food retailers and are proud to be a trusted manufacturer and supplier of commercial fridges and freezers that meet the requirements of supermarkets. The accolade from the Red Dot Design Award is truly a testament to our ongoing commitment to our customers as we push the boundaries of innovation and design.”

To find out more about the new full glass door freezer range, Cliff, or to view the full Liebherr product range for food retail and find out more about the business, visit Full Glass Door Freezer – Top performance | Liebherr

OAKLAND INTERNATIONAL SECURES KNOTTINGLEY SITE

Posted on by hayley.smith@oakland-international.com

Total supply chain solutions provider Oakland International has secured a new industrial site at Knottingley, West Yorkshire.

Completed in March 2024, Clews & Co Chartered Surveyors helped secure the acquisition of the 161,578 sq. ft. building which includes 1Mva of power with the ability to provide an extended solar array across the entire roof resulting in c.600kva of renewable energy.

Oakland’s Group CEO Shaun Foley commented: “Needing more space due to increasing customer demand, and having investigated several sites, Knottingley was identified as the ideal location in supporting our client base and further increasing our geographical footprint in the UK market.”

24-hours/7 days a week operation, award-winning Oakland International is an authority in direct to consumer, case consolidation, contract packing, storage and distribution, food tempering and brand development support for ambient, chilled, and frozen food, servicing retail, convenience, discount, wholesale and food service markets in the UK and Ireland. A Certified B Corp, the company is currently working towards becoming the first business within their sector to achieve net zero.

David Clews of Clews & Co Surveyors commented: “We are delighted to have advised and supported Oakland International in their Knottingley acquisition at Konect62, it’s an outstanding example of the re-purposing of a former colliery site that will support the latest requirements in logistics property for this growing specialist in multi-temperature food logistics.”

Oakland International has now commenced the major project works required of the building in time for Autumn 2024.

GREENYARD FROZEN UK LTD WAS ONE OF 15 WINNERS TAKING HOME THE KING’S AWARD SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 2023 FOR THEIR COMMITMENT TOWARDS HEALTHIER LIFESTYLES AND WORKING TOWARDS MORE SUSTAINABLE FOOD CHAINS.

Posted on by simon@harringtonsltd.co.uk

Greenyard Frozen UK is the largest supplier of British-grown produce to the UK frozen market, situated over two sites in the heart of the UK’s growing region – King’s Lynn in Norfolk and Boston in Lincolnshire – and part of the Belgian fruit and vegetable giant Greenyard.

Sustainability has been embedded in the core of Greenyard ever since it was founded by Hein Deprez in 1983. Forty years later, the company is a global leader in the fruit and vegetable industry, operating a unique business model and offering pure-plant food experiences in fresh, frozen and prepared categories.

Sustainability remains at the heart of the company, with a clear purpose: to improve life through pure-plant food experiences – connecting healthy lifestyles and sustainable food value chains. Within the frozen category, its business directly contributes to a healthier planet, reducing food waste and lowering its environmental impact by constantly optimising its operations.

Environmentally conscious

Greenyard Frozen UK Ltd is led by Brendan Legrove and has a committed Sustainability and Environmental team that monitor its ecological impact, ensuring that all future investment projects at Greenyard are as environmentally conscious as possible.

Its daily energy, carbon footprint and water usages are continually measured to maintain its progress towards its 2025 and 2030 sustainability goals. Since 2015, its direct carbon footprint has seen a 49% decrease, a trend it wishes to continue. Several sources of on-site energy generation contribute to this reduction: solar panels cover its cold store roofs and annually produce an average of 2.5 million kWh, approximately 5% of its total site usage.

Its King’s Lynn site features a biological water treatment plant incorporating anaerobic digestion technologies, treating wastewater produced during crop processing. This plant has reduced the company’s water COD levels by 97% in seven years!

As part of this process, Biogas is generated as a by-product, which is captured and stored within a biogas dome to supply a 600kW combined heat and power generator. The CHP produces 3% of site electricity and the by-product heat is also used to heat water.

A bright future

In 2022 Greenyard had its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets approved by the SBTi, in line with limiting global temperatures to 1.5C. Its corporate sustainability strategy is aligned with reaching this ambitious target and its localised strategy outlines incremental goals to ensure that it stays on track. It is important that all of the company’s employees are aware of progress, which is communicated on display boards and during inductions for new starters.

Neil Winner, UK Operations Director says: “After 40 years of working with the business, the importance and impact of this Award cannot be understated. It is without doubt a deserved reward for a dedicated team at Greenyard, after many years of tireless work in achieving incredible progress on a topic upon which our core values are based.

We will continue to develop the future roadmap for Greenyard, ensuring we are successful in the challenging drive of reducing our impact on the environment and realise the bright future which lies ahead within an ecologically focused world.”

On 14th June 2024 The Lady Dannatt MBE, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk attended the Kings Lynn site to present the award to Brendan Legrove, General Manager UK and Ireland and Neil Winner, Operations Director UK joined on site by Deputy Lieutenant, David Goddard, Mayor and Mayoress of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk, Paul and Marion Bland.

SUSTAINABLE FISH IS A REALITY FOR CHEFS, IMPORTERS, WHOLESALE AND RETAIL!

Posted on by Oliver Rogerson

The first Sustainability Seminar and Fish Chefs Lunch, organised by The Chefs’ Forum, took place on Monday 24th June at the upscale Sexy Fish restaurant in London’s Mayfair.

Fifty attendees, including speakers from international fish production, research and fair trade discussed the latest in fish sustainability and enjoyed a lunch created by Sexy Fish Group Restaurant Chef Director, Bjoern Weissgerber in a beautiful setting. The Coral Room at Sexy Fish Mayfair was the perfect venue for this nautical-themed event, with a dedicated bar, illuminated amber onyx floor and two of the largest live coral reef tanks in the world.

Bjoern said
“It was fantastic to welcome fifty top chefs and food industry experts to Sexy Fish. I am extremely grateful to The Chefs’ Forum and Maris for putting this together and I am delighted with the way in which it was organised, from start to finish. I really enjoyed experimenting with new fish species and learning about their provenance. It is really important that we know the carbon impact of ingredients in our menus and fish is a major focus for us at Caprice Holdings, throughout all brand concepts. It was really interesting to hear the talks today and learn more about Fair Trade, welfare and sustainability standards.”

Sustainably-farmed, high-welfare Barramundi, Snow Cod, Tiger Prawns and Tilapia made up the menu of the lunch and each of the producers gave a talk about how their products are meeting global sustainability standards.

Jaqueline Pfyl, Senior Director of Industry Marketing at Fair Trade USA said

“Conscious consumers recognise that when they see the Fair Trade Certified label on a product it has met a set of rigorous standards supporting sustainable and responsible consumption and production, making it easier for them to choose items that align with their values. Consumers are looking for brands and certifications  that they can trust, and over 60% of the population trusts the Fair Trade Certified label.

They look for the stories behind the items they buy and understand that their purchases make a true difference for people and communities around the world. 86% of consumers want more sustainable and equitable products in the post-pandemic market.”

Andrea Zick, PhD researcher & sustainability expert at Brunel University, said

“Putting sustainability on a menu is a delicate balancing act. Consumers and diners want to know where the food they are eating comes from and how its production impacts local communities. Sustainability, at its core, is about making sure that production is harmonious with its surroundings and modern aquaculture is managing to do that whilst also building communities that can grow up around it.”

As each course was presented the producers got the chance to explain their
credentials:

Talking about barramundi from The Better Fish, Maris Managing Director, Steven Tilston said

“Australis sees Fair Trade as a natural component of its mission. They’ve got there by making sure that their Barramundi are prime in quality with high levels of Omega 3 and zero contaminants. That means no detectable levels of mercury, PCBs, antibiotics, hormones, or colorants. It’s great to be here today, celebrating responsible sourcing and processing of Barramundi, a lesser-known species in Europe, which can be likened to Sea Bass. I’m also delighted to welcome Unima, Norcod and Regal springs to this special event, promoting sustainable fish.”

Steve also took the opportunity to introduce the chefs and experts to ‘Greener Grazing’, a research project to farm Asparagopsis Taxiformis seaweed alongside Barramundi, growing it on ropes to make a pleasant habitat for the fish.

This work has the potential to virtually eliminate methane emissions from livestock digestion by introducing seaweed into ruminant diets (Cattle, Sheep and Goat feed), while restoring ocean habitats and revitalising coastal communities.

The Barramundi was served in a light and crispy tempura batter with a Yuzu Kosho dip and it went down a storm with the guests.

Will Rash from UNIMA said
“We don’t just produce incredible Madagascar Tiger Prawns. Above all, UNIMA is committed to its employees by providing social benefits well above the country’s minimum standard, and continuously contributing to the improvement of employee working conditions and personal development. Employment only begins at 18, employees work 40-hour weeks, receive overtime compensation, have access to a health clinic, health insurance.”

Chef Bjoern grilled the tiger prawns on the charcoal robata grill (a signature way of live fire cooking at Sexy Fish) and served it with Coconut Kakigõri and green papaya – A stunning dish that really brought out the flavour of these beautiful crustaceans.

Christian Riber, CEO of Norcod added:

“Through our commitment to people, cod, and nature, we take responsibility for economic, social and environmental sustainability. Norcod is the culmination of a highly ambitious endeavor to raise premium Atlantic Cod sustainably and commercially. Snow Cod is naturally bred in Norwegian fjords, bringing our customers a truly delicious product of consistent first-rate quality, Bjoern and the team at Sexy Fish, really did it justice today and we are delighted with the guests’ feedback.”

The Norweigan Snow Cod was perfectly-caremelised and served with a spicy miso glaze. It was plated in a beautiful white bowl that really gave a beautiful aesthetic to the dish.

Petra Weigl from Regal Springs said

”Sustainability has been at the core of our Tilapia production since the beginning. Moving with the times, we’re dedicated to supporting the growing trend toward the green and blue food movements — accelerating our efforts to build a better planet for all. By responsibly farming Tilapia, we add precious protein to world food supplies without diminishing threatened ocean fish stocks.

We’ve invested in the latest hatchery and genetics technologies to ensure optimal tilapia fish farming conditions, resulting in fresh, flaky, and versatile Tilapia that’s bursting with healthy protein and 100% lake traceable.”

Again, Bjoern and his brigade took to the the robata grill to lightly char the Tilapia and it was finished with brown butter, ponzu and capers; The perfect flavour partners for this delicate, flaky fish.

Petra explained that humane UK aquaculture stunning technology is used to minimize suffering and reduce stress before the Tilapia are dispatched, leading to a better eating quality as the meat is far more succulent.

Les Caves de Pyrene kindly sponsored the lunch with three delicious wines to really compliment Bjoern’s excellent menu, showcasing sustainable fish species, a topic that Sexy Fish is extremely passionate about on a global level throughout all of its four sites in Mayfair, Manchester, Miami, with the latest opening imminent in Dubai later this year.

Sustainability has to be a the heart of everything we do in the food industry and events like these bring all of the right people into the room to bring about positive change, through sharing specialist knowledge and best practice.

DELIVERING ENHANCEMENTS IN THE PHARMA/HEALTHCARE SUPPLY CHAINS

Posted on by Rob Sherwin

Warehouse management systems (WMS) are pivotal for businesses, streamlining inventory control, enhancing order fulfilment, and improving efficiency. However, in the pharmaceutical industry, WMS takes on an even more critical role. It not only optimises general business operations but also addresses industry-specific challenges. These include rigorous regulatory compliance, effective cold chain management, and anti-counterfeiting measures. By harnessing the functionality of a WMS – or integrating one with an existing system such as an ERP – pharmaceutical companies can ensure product integrity, compliance, safety, and timely delivery, thereby elevating their performance to new heights.

Rigorous Regulatory Compliance: the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector is governed by strict regulations and quality standards. To maintain compliance businesses in the sector are required, among other things, to keep accurate and detailed records of the products they manufacture and supply. While it is possible to use paper documentation, the volume and variety of data involved inevitably means that computerisation offers a number of potential benefits. Using a WMS removes the need to manually enter information about products as they pass through the warehouse which eliminates the risk of introducing errors and supports greater automation to promote efficiency and reduce costs. It also enables data exchange with other applications, including those that manage compliance processes. Dublin-based Merit Pharmaceuticals, for example, deployed the ProERP Advanced Order Management application from Principal Logistics Technologies to deliver a number of enhancements to its operations that serve over 20 per cent of the market in Ireland. ProERP is scalable to deliver more than one million sales order lines per eight-hour day. Critically, the system allows the company to combine HPRA (Health Products Regulatory Board) compliance with the requirement for extensive agility, within the confines of this complex and dynamic industry sector.

Enhanced Inventory Management: efficient stock control is important for any manufacturer or distributor but there are additional pressures in pharmaceutical and healthcare. In particular, many products will have limited shelf life which makes it essential to utilise techniques such as first-expiry-first-out (FEFO) or first-in-first-out (FIFO). In both cases the objective is to eliminate stock wastage and ensure optimum stock rotation while maximising the shelf-life and availability at the point of delivery. Other considerations include new products becoming available which creates pressure to utilise existing or older stock. More generally pharmaceutical items can have high values which, with the regulatory considerations, makes traceability essential. Modern WMS and ERP systems have the capabilities to support highly flexible and adaptable handling, storage, and distribution processes that meet these objectives. Well Pharmacy, the business that resulted from the integration of the former United Co-operative and Co-operative groups, adopted ProERP to provide a highly sophisticated and efficient solution to its evolving requirement. In addition to improving performance the solution has enabled higher levels of stock visibility and traceability across its operations.

Optimised Order Fulfilment: timely delivery of medications and healthcare supplies is critical. A WMS automates order processing and optimises warehouse functions, ensuring the correct products are delivered on time. Otherwise-identical products are often available in a wide range of pack sizes or formats. It is important to ensure efficient handling, storage, and order picking processes to ensure the correct products are despatched to customers while also making best use of available facilities, equipment, and transport. Gordon’s Chemists, Northern Ireland’s largest independent pharmacy chain, achieved this following the introduction of ProWMS. Other benefits included real-time stock visibility, better stock rotation, and an improvement in stock accuracy rates of around 25 per cent.

Effective Cold Chain Management: many pharmaceutical products require specific temperature conditions. As we have seen elsewhere (link to be included) modern WMS include features for managing effective cold chain operations. This includes, but is not limited to, effective management of storage, handling, and distribution but also enabling detailed records of the processes and recorded temperatures so that supply chain partners can create and access a complete and accurate audit.

Anti-Counterfeiting Measures: counterfeit medications pose a significant risk to patient safety and has been identified as a growing challenge across the world. A WMS helps by tracking product movements and maintaining accurate records of product identifications such as serial and batch numbers. This information can be exchanged with other business applications so that organisations across the supply chain have a complete and detailed record. New technologies such as blockchain offer an even higher level of data integrity and for this reason the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors are at the forefront of its adoption. Unique Referencing, a patented technology developed by Principal Logistics Technologies, offers similarly high levels of performance and is offered as part of the company’s WMS products.

The supply chain requirements of the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors are among the most demanding and exacting. Many organisations working in these areas have found that advanced WMS and ERP solutions are key to driving the ever-present demands for efficiencies and economies, innovation and service enhancements, and increasingly stringent regulatory compliance.