Sittingbourne, UK: Cook Trading has increased production capacity of its ready to cook meals by adding another spiral freezer from Starfrost.
Cook produces 30 million meals per year sold in 90 of its own shops and more than 900 stores.
Starfrost custom-built a mechanical freezing system, which has been designed to integrate with Cook’s processing line. Since installation earlier this year, the additional Helix spiral freezer has boosted Cook’s total production capacity by 30% at its kitchens in Sittingbourne, Kent.
Ben Walker, general manager, Cook, said: “The freezing process has an effect on processing time and consequently impacts profit margins. It is also key to deliver the consistent product quality we require at Cook.”
“The choice between spiral freezing and blast freezing – a process we had used before, was made following extensive research and product test trials; the conclusion was that the spiral freezer option would facilitate greater efficiencies in the freezing process and provide consistent freezing.
“It also removed the need for the trolleys that blast freezing requires, reducing the risk of potential accidents caused by moving trolleys around the kitchen,” Walker said.
“The Helix spiral freezer has enabled us to significantly expand production capacity by 30%. The use of automated equipment means that our production line is continuously moving without interruption and our product quality levels are improved with consistent, non-stop freezing.”
The spiral freezer designed for Cook operates uninterruptedly and freezes produce consistently, allowing production at Cook to be accurately controlled and monitored whilst delivering dependable quality results, Starfrost said.
