A food manufacturer based in Brecon has expanded its delivery fleet with two new refrigerated lorries, increasing its ability to transport chilled and frozen products to customers across Britain.
Beacon Foods has added two 26-tonne MAN tractor units, each paired with a 13.6-metre refrigerated trailer. The dual-compartment trailers can carry up to 26 pallets and transport chilled and frozen goods at the same time.
The company supplies ingredients and ready-to-eat products to food manufacturers and foodservice businesses. Its range includes purées, roasted and chargrilled vegetables, fruit products, relishes, chutneys, sauces, soups and compotes.
Beacon Foods says growing demand for its products prompted the investment. Its supply chain manager, Simon Morgan, said the new vehicles would add capacity, reliability and flexibility to the company's transport operation.
Keeping deliveries under its own control
Beacon Foods says 95% of its daily deliveries are now handled by its own fleet, which serves customers across most of Wales, England and Scotland.
Operating its own vehicles gives the company direct involvement in the distribution of its products, including the temperature-controlled transport needed for chilled and frozen ingredients.
The new trailers use Carrier refrigeration systems. Red Line Technology, based in Hereford, supplied tracking, temperature and door-monitoring equipment, as well as driver-assistance cameras.
The tractor units were supplied by Tech Trucks UK, near Hereford, while The Reefer Trailer Centre in Stoke-on-Trent supplied the trailers.
The equipment gives the company the ability to transport different categories of products on the same journey, while monitoring conditions during delivery.
Ingredients used by other food businesses
Established in 1993, Beacon Foods supplies ingredients that go into products including sandwiches, ready meals, pizzas, drinks and desserts. Its customers include manufacturers, restaurant chains, airlines and coffee shops.
Much of the company's work takes place behind the scenes, with its ingredients incorporated into finished products sold under other brands. Reliable delivery is therefore an important part of the supply chain connecting food manufacturers with their own customers.
The fleet expansion is part of Beacon Foods' response to demand for its products. By adding vehicles with separate chilled and frozen compartments, the business has more options when organising deliveries for customers with different requirements.
For a Welsh manufacturer supplying businesses across the country, distribution is an important link between production in Mid Wales and customers elsewhere in the UK. The latest investment adds to the company's existing temperature-controlled fleet, which ranges from smaller delivery vans to articulated lorries.
