Food wholesaler ‘hack’ to increase storage capacity

A FOOD wholesaler is on course for record sales this year after investing £500,000 in an ingenious hack to increase storage capacity.

Harlech Foodservice – which has premises in Criccieth and Chester - has increased the capacity of its giant freezer by 25% after reconfiguring the racking with narrower aisles and adding an extra row.

As part of the plan the company also bought “bendy” forklift trucks that can navigate the tighter spaces. As a result, the capacity of the freezer has been increased by 270 pallets to a total of 1,100. The package of measures includes installing a new, more environmentally friendly refrigeration system to keep the temperature in the freezer at a constant -21C.

All told the initiative will lead to an annual reduction of more than 111 tonnes in CO2 emissions as well as generating significant savings on the energy bill. According to joint chairman Andrew Foskett, the investment is part of Harlech’s long-term growth strategy.

Turnover is set to hit an all-time high of £38 million this year, which is well above the previous, pre-pandemic record of £32 million.

Amongst other things it’s being fuelled by Harlech’s biggest ever Food Expo held recently at Venue Cymru in Llandudno where the company saw record sales of £600,000 and crowds of more than 2,500.

Operations manager Ian Evans said increasing the storage space in the freezer had worked on a number of levels: “It became clear we needed more freezer capacity but we dismissed the idea of building an extension, not only because of the cost but also because it would have increased our carbon footprint at a time when the price of energy is spiralling.

“Instead, we’ve reduced the width of the aisles from 3.2 metres to 1.8 metres, put in an extra row and trained the staff to use the new bendy forklift trucks to enable them to work in a narrower environment.”