Seafast Celsius expands in Felixstowe; partners with Solstor UK

Seafast commenced operation of the Celsius facility in July 2009, with plans for phased expansion underpinned by the company’s long-term agreement with the Port of Felixstowe.

The new phase, which increases the facility height of the docking bays and the internal short-term storage areas, was considered vital in meeting the demand for handling tall fresh produce pallets.

Seafast Celsius director Dave Baker commented that there are two main features of the expansion:

• Firstly, there has been a clear requirement for a third temperature chamber. The facility can now handle deep frozen products (-18 to -20 OC), chilled produce (0 to 3 OC) and fresh produce (5 – 6 OC) simultaneously.

• Secondly, the increase in height, which facilitates the storage of tall fresh produce pallets, not only increases short-term storage capacity but also enables a much wider range of flexibility.

In other news, Seafast Celsius has reached a strategic agreement with Solstor UK, which manages a fleet of more than 350 temperature-controlled vehicles providing UK and European distribution.

Seafast has been making use of Solstor’s temperature controlled distribution services for some time.  Solstor is based near the M25 Dartford River Crossing, just over an hour from Dover and close to the ports of Sheerness and Tilbury, and has offices and consolidation centres in Spain, Italy, Belgium, Poland and a number of other European locations.

The agreement between Seafast and Solstor delivers an integrated solution for customers seeking temperature-controlled handling and distribution capabilities.

The Seafast Group’s involvement in handling temperature-controlled commodities stretches beyond the UK through its involvement with the Easyfresh reefer logistics network, which was established in October last year.