ACE Refrigeration recently completed the design & build of a £2M new chilled/frozen production facility for Braehead SFO in Uddingston.
With the building of this new tailor made production factory, Braehead SFO Enterprises Ltd, one of the largest suppliers of fresh and frozen Langoustine in the UK, have ensured they can continue to grow and service their increasing customer base.
The design team at ACE Refrigeration have worked closely with Braehead SFO over the past 14 months to ensure the design of their factory was tailored to meet their business needs now and safeguard them for future growth. Introducing the Architect and Main Contractor to the project ACE worked side by side with Braehead SFO to ensure the delivery of the best project plan possible. “We worked with Robert and Jean-Yves at Braehead SFO to come up with the initial concept of building a new factory when their original plans to move and extend existing premises were thwarted. Starting with a blank canvas has meant we could design the factory inside out, allowing their refrigeration and production needs to dictate the size and layout of the plant rather than trying to fit it in to an existing premises.” said Shane McKenzie, Sales Director at ACE Refrigeration.
With capacity and efficiencies the key drivers the new factory will have three distinct areas; a freezer with a 3406m3 capacity to hold 300 pallets, each pallet holding approximately half a tonne of Langoustine, so they can effectively store 150 tonnes of frozen langoustine! In addition there is a chill room with 581m3 capacity and a temperature controlled production facility with a capacity of 1450m3 all designed by ACE.
One result of the size is that there is a large amount of highly valuable perishable stock in one area so they needed the most reliable refrigeration to ensure their products integrity and needed to have the peace of mind to know they were dealing with the experts, to this end ACE have designed the refrigeration system with additional back up systems in place. An added bonus for Braehead of the ACE design is free hot water – with a brazed plate heat exchanger incorporated into the design they will have free hot water to use for the daily wash down of their production facility – meaning reduced energy bills.
Robert McNab, Director of Braehead SFO said “Having worked very closely with ACE Refrigeration from the initial idea for a new factory we are delighted with the level of commitment and service they have shown as a supplier. We look forward to continuing to build a strong and lengthy relationship with them as they will also be maintaining and servicing the equipment now it is in place.”
The new facility was officially opened by Environment Secretary, Richard Lochhead on 22nd September, coincidently both he and ACE originate from Denniston in Glasgow’s East End.