Greggs North East

Problems were being experienced at Greggs North East bakery plant due to the large number of plastic strip doors used to keep out the heat on the site’s 21 freezer and chill rooms.

Damage to the strips themselves due to the number of times they were opened and closed to allow products in and out was one consideration.  For convenience some of the strips had been removed altogether.

The general arrangement was that each door had a combination of strip curtains and overhead air curtain.  This combination was creating downtime problems due to maintenance and cleaning made necessary by the heat from the ovens in the bakery.  Another problem on one of the larger freezer rooms was that condensation was causing ice to form on the floor in the doorway.  This extended a considerable way into the room and was a distinct health and safety hazard.

• Having read about SMI’s Cold Stop Greggs North East Chief Engineer made contact with SMI.
• The worst door situations were identified.
• It was decided that SMI should supply and fit Cold Stop curtains to 5 freezer and chill rooms.
• Top priority was the freezer running at minus 28ºC where floor ice had been accumulating in the doorway.
• Since a Cold Stop curtain has been fitted the ice hazard has been eliminated.
• Tempro Cold Stop®, SMI’s insulated door curtains for cold rooms reduce cold room energy consumption due to their thermal efficiency allowing optimum settings on evaporator equipment to achieve the internal working temperature.
• Such has been the success of the curtains and the acceptance by the operational staff, that plastic strip curtains in all 21 freezers and chill rooms have been replaced by Cold Stop.

Commenting on the installations, Gregg’s North East Chief Engineer said that he anticipated energy savings in the future as there was already a noticeable reduction in refrigeration plant running times in the rooms where the plastic strips had been replaced. “We have disconnected the air curtains in those rooms too, which will cut energy consumption, and if our maintenance downtime is reduced, the curtains will pay for themselves in a short time”, he added.