Logistics group Oakland International expands with £1.2m investment
WORCESTERSHIRE chilled food logistics group Oakland International is investing £1.2m in a new expansion programme.
The company has already secured planning permission to increase its existing cold pallet storage facility at Redditch. The extra capacity will extend the group’s existing frozen food storage capacity by 2,000 pallets.
The construction project, due to be completed in September, also involves the installation of a 26-pallet blast freezer.
The latest expansion follows a £2.6m investment made over the last two years to increase its ambient and chilled capacity by an additional 50,000 sq ft. In the last three years the company’s workforce has grown from 110 people to over 210.
Dean Attwell, managing director, Oakland International said: “Our expansion plans are substantial considering the current size of our frozen business. We have a clear focus to deliver strong organic growth with our existing clients and really focus on our customer service while keeping close to our retailers. The demand for increased capacity has been driven by our focus on providing additional tempering contracts and the rapid growth of our retail platform models.
“In addition to expanding our cold store we have now put in a planning application for a new 60,0000 sq ft of extra ambient and chilled storage with construction planned to take place during 2015, creating between 60 and 90 more jobs over the next 18 months to support our retail, discount and convenience sector activity.”
Working with around 200 suppliers to deliver product into the multiples, discount and convenience sectors, Oakland added a further 15,000 sq ft of chilled space to handle the Christmas rush and first quarter activity of 2014. Alongside this it has also invested heavily in co-packing lines, adding five more packing lines to support its Christmas party food tempering and coding operation; a total investment of £200,000.
“The growth of our business throughout the economic downturn was a deliberate risk strategy intended to support our customers by extending service offer through increased destinations, whilst driving efficiency through critical mass, enabling Oakland to hold our prices,” added Attwell.
“Alongside this we have also been undertaking significant investment in energy efficient chillers, LED lighting and solar PV panels, with over 300kva solar power generation now in operation on our roof in an engaged drive to retain control of energy costs.
“The new cold store will feature the most energy efficient construction materials, lighting and equipment and will add a further 350kw of solar capacity through roof-mounted solar panels.”
