The beginning of this year has seen lorry drivers banned from entering France from the UK and the completion of the Brexit deal. This was followed by a mountain of new paperwork and new processes for fresh and frozen food exports to the EU, a substantial drop in trade across the Channel, and the closure of many food outlets in the third national lockdown. The cold storage and distribution industry showed great resilience in rising to these challenges. The next challenge is the new regulations for imports from the EU from 1 April and 1 July which may well cause similar levels of disruption for storage and movement of fresh and frozen food as experienced in January, according to the Cold Chain Federation.
This article was first published in the March 1st 2021 issue of Warehouse & Logistics News, subscribe to the magazine by clicking here.
In 2017, NewCold Advanced Cold Logistics designed a bespoke pallet handling pod to operate at its Wakefield deepfreeze storage facility and now, says the company, the same unique technology will be put to work at their new site in Corby, due to open in the autumn of this year. The pod effectively bridges the gap between the deep-frozen production or storage environment and NewCold’s auto-loading 44-pallet double-deck trailers.
As the long-awaited Covid-19 vaccination begins to be rolled-out nationwide, much thought has been given to safely transporting the inoculation, with both the Pfizer and Moderna variants having to be stored safely at low temperatures, to guarantee usability. For the transport operators tasked with shipping these vaccines, it is absolutely vital to ensure they are delivered safely in a strong, lightweight but robust container. As a global leader in storage and transport containers for medical products and hazardous goods, ZARGES offers a range of solutions for shipping goods at extreme temperatures. These include the K470 universal container, a lightweight, aluminium solution which is available in 25 standard sizes and capacities, from 13 to 829 litres, and can be specified based on customer-specific requirements.
Since total supply chain solutions provider Oakland International’s state-of-the-art chilled and deep chilled Coalville warehouse opened in September 2020, it has seen a significant uplift in enquiries from manufacturers looking for an optimum cross-docking platform for products destined for UK retailers and wholesalers. Coalville’s 225,000 sq. ft unit is a multi-million-pound investment for Oakland International with plans in place to install solar panels to make the warehouse carbon neutral as part of their focus towards becoming the first carbon-neutral business within their sector.
When operating machinery, great care and accuracy is needed; it’s important not to lose any dexterity. Cold fingers are clumsy and awkward, they slow you down and could lead to mistakes or even accidents. Zestos WL1048HP gloves from MCR Safety are nylon with HTP coating and cosy terry towelling lining. They protect from cold and delivers exceptional dexterity.
As the UK forges new partnerships across the globe, net zero will be high on the agenda, says the Cold Chain Federation. Cutting the cold chain’s environmental footprint will soon be critical to meeting increasingly stringent regulation in the UK and abroad, as well as saving on rising energy costs and maintaining crucial commercial advantage.
George Simpson
Features Editor
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