Bhs started in Brixton in 1928 with the highest priced item being sold for one shilling! Today, after merging with Habitat/Mothercare in 1986 to form Storehouse plc and then becoming part of Philip Green’s empire in early 2000, there are 180 stores spread across this country with franchise stores in Europe, Russia and the Middle East. From the early days in the Twenties most stores have had a self-service café and more recently a coffee lounge and/or restaurant.
To provide safe temperature-controlled distribution of their chilled food products for their sites across the UK, in September 1998 Bhs became the first customer for the newly formed Olivo UK Ltd with an order for 108 Roll 580 models using eutectic plates. Having used these with great success, further orders delivered between September 1999 and September 2001 brought the total “fleet” of these containers to 550.
In 2006, the delivery of frozen products was examined by Bhs and trials were carried out using various different roll containers from the Olivo range. In order to meet the Bhs requirements, particularly with regard to the internal dimensions to suit the range of frozen food products as well as to maximise vehicle loading, the decision was taken to design and manufacture a Bhs specified roll container. The design was approved in April 2006 and production commenced in July that year, with 408 Roll 650 fitted with eutectic plates delivered to date. In addition, a further 164 Roll 650 fitted with eutectic plates for chilled operation have been delivered for use in distribution to the stores that are further away from the main distribution centre in Atherstone, Warwickshire (over 18 hours of temperature control as well as the delivery cycle time).
Currently, the entire “fleet” of Olivo containers uses eutectic plates for refrigeration. However, the rapidly escalating costs of electricity, and also when the current blast freezer used for freezing the plates comes to the end of its life, then the use of the Siber System of injected liquid CO2 could well come into effect. The Roll 650’s have been designed and produced so that they can be retro-fitted with Siber System tanks. If required.
The operation at the DHL Distribution Centre in Atherstone deals with order picking from their cold and chilled stores to load the containers with a very wide variety of products – all requiring temperature control. The containers are shipped in dry-freight vehicles which produces a considerable cost saving with no refrigeration units nor the need for insulated bodies. David Pursey, Food Services Manager, is responsible for looking after the containers and he said recently: “We have no problems with these Olivo products; the 580’s are between 7 and 10 years old and still going strong!”
Olivo UK Ltd
Tel: 01952 408070
www.olivo.fr
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