BLUE CUBE PORTABLE COLD STORES FULFILS ORDER FOR NINE BLAST FREEZERS FROM RICK BESTWICK

Cold storage specialist chooses high performance BFT28 62kW models for energy saving, cost and efficiency benefits

Rick Bestwick – part of the Magnavale Group – has recently installed three blast freezers from Blue Cube Portable Cold Stores (www.bluecubepcs.co.uk; tel: 0333 3202620) at its state-of-the-art Warrington and Scunthorpe facilities. Representing an order of nine blast freezers in total, the contract packer and cold storage specialist chose the high performance 28-pallet 62kW and 115kW units for their energy saving, cost and efficiency benefits.

Rick Bestwick offers some 1.5 million sq ft of warehouse space and approximately 200,000 pallet spaces across all temperature regimes. It provides a complete range of supply chain solutions and added value services including frozen, chilled and ambient storage, blast freezing, microwaving, order picking and despatch, rapid air tempering, repacking, labelling and date coding.

Blue Cube – one of the UK’s leading providers of rental temperature controlled storage solutions for the food and logistics industries – has supplied five 28-pallet blast freezers offering 39.49m² of usable space to Rick Bestwick’s Chesterfield site and another four units across the Liverpool, Scunthorpe and Warrington facilities where they are attached to the cold store areas.

Jonathan Gagg, Engineering and Procurement Director at Magnavale Group comments: “It became obvious that we needed to increase our blast freezing capacity to meet the demands of our expanding customer base. We reviewed the blast freezer market and Blue Cube’s systems offered the highest energy efficiencies and best value proposition for us and our customers. We also liked the more personal service approach we receive from them”.

He continues: “Blast freezing is a key part of our service and helps ensure that our customers’ products maintain the highest quality and the longest shelf life possible. It also increases production efficiency and minimises waste.

“The service from Blue Cube has been very good and we’re pleased to be able to offer additional capacity to our customers in these areas from now on,” Jonathan concludes.

Rick Bestwick has four sites located in Chesterfield, Scunthorpe, Liverpool and Warrington and offers one of the largest blast freezing capacities in the UK. The company has been using blast freezers since 2000, and provides the service under BRC Accreditation against the Global Standard for Storage and Distribution.

Blue Cube’s blast freezers are available in cross or end flow designs and in 7, 19 and 28 pallet capacities. The systems offer blast freeze, chill and temper functionality and can be ground based or elevated.

The latest generation screw compressors ensure greater efficiencies at lower temperatures. Plus LED lighting provides up to 300 lux of light meeting the standard required for loading and unloading.

Each blast freezer is fitted with impact bars, lockable doors and locking door bars whilst emergency lighting, externally mounted audible and visible man trap and temperature alarms provide all the necessary safety features.

In addition, side doors, ramps, dock level platforms and racking are available as optional features. The units can be linked to either a building or each other in order to help improve workflow.