Union Industries

Union Industries’ engineers acted almost as fast as its rapid roll industrial doors to ensure one of its Eiger freezer doors was fitted in record time at Total Foodservice Solutions.

To ensure that productivity at the busy Yorkshire-based food service company wasn’t impacted, installation of the Eiger door was required to take place in a two-and-a-half-day window during a weekend.

This is around half the time usually required to install the freezer door, however a team of three highly experienced Union Industries engineers, completed the job, which included the removal of an existing door, with time to spare.

Total Foodservice Solutions, which is a wholesale catering supplier to the hospitality, care, leisure and education sectors, chose the Eiger Door for its Huddersfield depot to help reduce energy costs and to maintain productivity.

The site has been operating a sliding door between its cold store and ambient areas for some years, however, it was becoming increasingly difficult to source replacement parts, which led to unwanted downtime.

In addition, increased demand for frozen products means the cold store requires constant access from forklift and pallet trucks, causing the sliding door to remain open and the freezer to work harder, using more energy to maintain a constant temperature.

These issues are mitigated by the installation of the Eiger Door. Its fast-acting operation, opening and closing at a speed of 1.6m per second, ensures that consistent temperatures can be maintained.

In addition, it features an innovative dehumidification system, which prevents snow and ice build-up on the door blade and frame, which is a constant issue for standard doors as the freezer encounters ambient air entering the cold store.

Union Industries’ rapid roller doors are renowned for their reliability, which is essential in a busy location such as Total Foodservice Solutions’ depot. They are supported by a team of dedicated service engineers and Union maintains a large stockholding of its UK-manufactured components if repairs are required.

Minimising downtime is also supported by the Eiger Door’s robust construction and its innovative crash-out and reset system. This is of particular benefit at this depot due to the entrance of the freezer in a tight area and help mitigate against any potential damage from regular forklift and pallet truck use.

Simon Howarth, Managing Director of Total Foodservice Solutions Ltd, said: “I have been aware of Union Industries and its doors for some time having seen the business in the media, so when it came to the time to look at an alternative door, it was the first company I thought of. With increased demand for our products and increasing energy costs we needed a solution that will help tackle these issues.

“The Eiger Door is very impressive and meets our requirements perfectly. The fact that Union Industries’ engineers were able to get the door fitted in double quick time only served to further justify my decision!”

Rob Howe, Union Industries’ Technical Sales Engineer, said: “Maintaining consistent freezer temperatures while ensuring uninterrupted access to cold stores is essential for companies like Total Foodservice Solutions. The Eiger Door has, for more than a decade, become the first choice for the food industry as they tackle energy cost and productivity issues.

“We also had the chance to put our engineers’ skills to the test on this installation, which they achieved with aplomb! A typical installation takes four days, but they pretty much cut that in half on this job to ensure that the freezer was back in action and accessible before the end of a weekend.”

ENDS

NEWS RELEASE: ISSUED ON BEHALF OF UNION INDUSTRIES

For further information contact Jamie Collis 01325 363436

Photo caption: Simon Howarth, Managing Director of Total Foodservice Solutions Ltd (left) and Rob Howe, Union Industries’ Technical Sales Engineer (right) getting festive in front of the newly installed Eiger Door

THE HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOGRAPH TO ACCOMPANY THIS NEWS RELEASE CAN BE DOWNLOADED FROM:

Editors’ Notes:

From its origins as a tarpaulin maker and repairer, Leeds-based Union Industries manufactures a range of industrial products, including its market-leading range of High Speed Industrial Rapid Roller Doors that are commonly regarded as the best in industry. The current range includes the Ramdoor, Bulldoor, Matadoor, Lion Door, Picadoor and the unique Eiger Freezer Door.

These fast-acting doors are installed in distribution centres, warehouses, factories and storage facilities to improve logistics and save heat loss for companies across the UK and Europe. Its portfolio of clients includes BAE Systems, Lidl, Tesco, Cummins, Aldi Stores, TRW, Lidl, Jaguar Land Rover.

In 2014 its founders, Paul and Isobel Schofield, took the decision to safeguard the future of the company in Leeds, by selling their majority share to the Union Industries Employee Ownership Trust.

Under Union Industries’ Employee Ownership scheme, every employee is awarded an equal share of the business. New starters who join the company are also given shares after 12 months of employment.

Although Union Industries has always boasted a committed workforce, becoming Employee Owned has further empowered its team; everyone now also has an added financial incentive as a result of an annual tax-free bonus.