When a manufacturer of fresh prepared foods needed to expand its production, one of the country's leading food construction specialists was on hand to deliver the project.
Dover-based Tilmanstone Salads, part of Bakkavor Group, prepares a number of value-added salads and vegetable product ranges for a well-known, premier UK high street retailer.
When it needed to take on additional products transferred from another site within the group, Tilmanstone called in Chalcroft Construction to assist in the design and lead the build of an extension.
With tight deadlines, the need to reorganise internal facilities and a requirement to carry out the works without affecting production, planning and communication were key factors to the successful completion of the 16-week project.
Tilmanstone's Projects Engineering Manager Steve Oliver commented: "This really was a challenging project for Chalcroft Construction but they were able to deliver what we asked for on time.
"Necessity meant that this was a rapid project, and within a matter of weeks, the design had been agreed, orders had been placed and work had begun. As this is an operational site, Chalcroft had to meet industry standards and Bakkavor's exacting standards."
The high-care project involved the construction of a full-height, single-storey factory extension, which necessitated the demolition of internal structures in a protected environment, the addition of refrigeration services and a dressings area.
Chalcroft's Ed Getley, who heads up the company's Food Projects Division, continued: "A specific challenge for this project was the complicated sequence of linking the new and old premises. This was done well because of the planning and the communications between all involved."
Chalcroft Construction has carried out a number of projects for Bakkavor, including a major extension to the premises of Isleport Foods, in Highbridge, Somerset, which produces a range of chilled desserts for the major UK supermarkets. The multi-million-pound project involved doubling the size of the production floor and the refurbishment of the existing building - all completed without any disruption to production.