Patrick Ball, our food industry expert, shares how business models and aspirations influence how Stancold interact with clients, discussing two examples from the past and a related upcoming project.
“Food manufacturing is extremely varied. It’s not only products that vary, though. Based on the nature of our client’s business, some will need handholding and help navigating the construction world. We’d guide them through the feasibility stages, discuss sustainability, energy efficiency and educate them on their options,” he says, giving our case study from last year, where we partnered with a project management company to deliver both internal fit-out and external cladding.
“Our Birmingham job is a perfect example of such an approach. Working together through all the phases of their plans and getting to know and understand their business makes all the difference. And seeing how it helped them take their operations to the next level was a rewarding experience.”
Understanding that, for instance, an artisan cheese maker doesn’t necessarily plan on becoming a supplier for a supermarket chain and will likely need a more futureproof, bespoke design and factoring in their growth forecast is an essential part of our process.
“It is slightly different with companies that aspire to, or already form, someone’s supply chain. They often know their precise needs and sign contracts years in advance. The approach will be more structured and streamlined,” Patrick explains, referring to a project we are due to start at the end of June. It will be our second visit to the Asian cuisine specialist manufacturer’s site (photos from our previous build below).
“While I cannot share specifics, we’ve known their plans for over a year. For them, a new product line meant the specifications would have been similar to what we built in the past. It was more about ensuring they could ramp up the production significantly, working towards a deadline given by their client. And for that, they needed people they could trust,” he sums up.
We’re proud to say that based on the quality of our previous installation, we did most of our pre-construction work with little to no questions asked. That is often the case with companies anonymously manufacturing food products for big, well-known brands. Strategic background work and, most of the time, even technical design – would have happened before involving a construction contractor.
Sam Glover and his installation team are yet to start on-site, but we’re confident the client will be ready to meet their deadline.
Stay tuned for more info. And why not message pball@stancold.co.uk to see what our team can do for your business?
