Joint venture packing operation Integrated Service Solutions (ISS) has more than doubled in capacity after significant expansion and investment at its Kent location.
The joint venture between Fowler Welch and Direct Produce Supplies (DPS), which was established in 2014, now covers 115,000 sq ft of with four chambers of produce storage, six ripening rooms and 22 packing lines. It is located at Teynham, Kent, on the same site as a major Fowler Welch depot.
Speaking at a press tour on Friday (14 October), Fowler Welch CEO Nick Hay said ISS has invested heavily in technology and automation, with a further £1 million of investment lined up for further expansion. To date, Fowler Welch has invested £4 million in the project, with the latest extension of 52,000 sq ft in packing space, he said.
“We began with one case in 2014 and we are now doing over eight million. We have capacity to grow to 12 million on this site, and both shareholders are keen to see the business grow,” said Hay, adding that future expansion could take place at the existing site, or at a secondary location.
“We estimate there is roughly £5 a pallet saving due to not collecting the produce and being co-located with the Fowler Welch distribution network,” he added.
ISS is run autonomously under the leadership of MD Mathew Newns. It handles 100 per cent of DPS’ UK-packed fruit, with stonefruit, kiwifruit, mango and topfruit among its major lines.
Established to cut costs and time in the supply chain between Fowler Welch and its customer DPS, ISS was designed with Tesco in mind as the major retail customer but the company now supplies most of the major retailers in the UK.
Speaking to FPJ, Hay said Fowler Welch would consider similar joint packing ventures with other produce customers, for example via the company’s site in Lincolnshire, which he said would be suitable for co-packing on products such as salads or vegetables. “Consolidation is at the heart of what we do. We are transformational rather than transactional,” he said.
