Inclusions supplier Pecan Deluxe Candy brings its production in-house

The £3m ($3.93m) investment to its plant in the north of England will provide an initial seven cold stores to support the growth of new product lines and departments, as well as a complete construction build and washroom to ensure stringent hygiene standards.

Graham Kingston, managing director at Pecan Deluxe Candy, said: “Originally the factory had a collection of portable coldstore units located outside the factory which wasn’t an ideal set-up in terms of ingredient storage and handling. We now have a real manufacturing facility which we’re proud to show to customers – actually it’s now a real differentiator for us as a business and as a physical structure, it’s a powerful message about the strength of our offering. There are very few, if any, sites like this in our sector across the world, never mind in the UK​.“

He said the first stage of development enabled product storage to be handled completely on-site, delivering significant savings by removing the need for offsite storage and distribution and therefore associated handling costs, as well as the time taken to audit third parties. This also contributed to its carbon reduction ambitions, an important factor for the company.

Tighter control

In a statement the company said: ‘This initial investment laid the foundation for on-going expansion over the seven-year period with the recently completed permanent build containing a frozen chamber, tempering room, and chill room, which are linked to the existing factory to streamline production and bring all outsourced processes in-house. As well as improved efficiencies, these onsite facilities deliver tighter control of production levels and delivery times. It’s also meant that the factory perimeter can be enclosed to improve security and future-proof the business with Threat Assessment Critical Control Points (TACCP) in mind.’

Michael Sansum, DGTCS product development manager, said: “After getting to know Pecan Deluxe and understanding its ambitious growth plans, we worked in partnership to agree a staged plan of new facilities that would be introduced over a number of years to increase efficiency and improve manufacturing processes.​

“Seven years on, we’ve now handed over the keys to a brand new build which has brought all processes on-site to deliver financial savings and give Pecan Deluxe complete ownership of its production line. Rather than being reliant on third parties to hold raw materials, deliver the correct stock on time, and store produce at the right temperature, Pecan Deluxe can now solely use its own facilities to create high-quality products as well as vastly improving site security​.”