Packhouse

Constructed in 2007 the 2000-tonne a year capacity Packhouse at Windmill Hill, Herefordshire, provides us with state of the art facilities and allows us to offer the total service under one roof, which is important to ensure a chill chain from field to store.

Aside from the very latest cold-storage area, there's air curtain segregation and lorry docking facilities. New for 2011 the investment of a second heat-seal line was made, the Proseal heat-sealing machine has an impressive output of 130 heat-sealed punnets per minute. The packhouse also contains a high-tech strigging and processing line to produce top quality IQF (individually quick frozen) blackcurrants.

This is all part of a huge complex, encompassing our sophisticated office blocks (that have some nifty fuel-saving underfloor heating). It also means good channels of communication between the farm, administration and Packhouse areas.

As well as bringing a number of additional unquantifiable benefits, it's been estimated that our packhouse facility has helped reduce packing costs by as much as 10% due to the improved efficiency and effectiveness.

The Packhouse is BRC audited and audited to pack for all major supermarkets covering Tesco Nurture, M&S field to fork, LEAF marquee, assured produce and all internal Berry Gardens checks.

A recent investment has also been made in a new photovoltaic (PV) system on the roof of the packhouse to produce electric from solar radiation. The system is designed to produce just over 30,000 KW per year and is sure to bring many benefits not to mention the environmentally friendly nature of the project.