The fastest method for loading and unloading produce is using a raised loading bay which feeds directly into the waiting vehicle. Usually dock levellers are fixed directly to the warehouse floor, which then extend to make contact with a docking vehicle and allows produce to be wheeled into the trailer. However, in some circumstances this isn’t possible.
Fortunately sara LBS is able to deliver a solution which offers quick loading without affecting warehouse insulation.
Coombe Fisheries is a leading seafood processor based in the South West of England. The company processes and harvests king scallops, whelk, cuttlefish and sprat for supply to global customers. With such a demanding order book it’s important that the business can quickly load its produce onto the steady stream of delivery vehicles. As part of a recent refurbishment to its facilities, Coombe Fisheries invested in a sara LBS loading pod to help its goods out operations run more efficiently.
Project Link Ltd., a construction company specialising in delivering projects for the food industry, was responsible for the refurbishment project. When inspection began on the warehouse it was quickly apparent that a standard dock loading solution wouldn’t be suitable. Due to the construction of the warehouse floor it wasn’t possible to dig through the floor and secure a dock leveller in place. The company turned to sara LBS, specialists in loading bay solutions, to suggest an alternative.
Darren Williams, Project Link Managing Director, comments: “Thanks to funding coming from Europe there are currently quite a few grants available for the seafood industry in the UK, which means that companies like Coombe Fisheries are able to expand their facilities. In this case part of the project brief was to design and deliver an improved loading facility to speed up the goods out process and help improve the overall insulation of the warehouse.
“We’ve worked with sara LBS on previous projects and know how good its engineers are at designing bespoke solutions which meet the specific targets of a project. We explained what the client was looking for and the issue with the warehouse floor and asked for their recommendation. After a site inspection they were able to design an external loading pod, complete with dock leveller, dock shelter and a sectional overhead door which met every one of the design criteria.”
sara LBS specialises in design and installation of loading bay and industrial door solutions where the end user is looking for long term savings through efficiency gains and reduced maintenance costs. It employs its own design and installation engineers meaning that each project is handled in-house to make communications and delivery schedules easier to manage.
The dock loading pods (or loading houses) supplied by sara LBS are supported by a steel structure with insulated roof and side panels.
Sectional overhead doors are also supplied with Kingspan insulated panels, and a retractable dock seal is installed which seals the gap between the pod and the vehicle when the door is open. In some circumstances a second, high-speed door can be installed between the pod and the warehouse, but in the case of Coombe Fisheries the insulation supplied was sufficient to deem this unnecessary.
Speaking on behalf of sara LBS, Paul Rudge, Area Sales Manager, said: “It’s projects like this where we thrive. Where a well-designed solution can not only solve an existing problem, but also deliver greater performance in the long run. By installing a loading pod we’ve sped up the loading process for the customer and helped Project Links to meet the project’s targets.”
The loading dock was supplied with wheel guides, traffic lights and a composite control panel to help ease the docking process for the lorry drivers. The sara LBS sales team worked with Project Link throughout the specification and installation process and will supply an on-going maintenance service to ensure that its products deliver a long and reliable service.
SARA LBS
Louise Nurse
Tel: 01442 245577
Email: info@saralbs.co.uk
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