In their heyday, Britain’s stately homes were some of the biggest ‘businesses’ in the country. Before the refrigerator was invented, ice houses were built in their grounds in order to keep the magnificent ices, sorbets, and desserts created in the kitchens perfectly chilled. In the summertime, chunks of ice which had been collected from a nearby lake the previous winter were dug out of the straw or sawdust in the ice house to help with the preservation of perishable foodstuffs. Fast forward to 2024, and the business of creating and maintaining a specific chilled temperature for food storage is not only considerably more hygienic but is also legally required to be managed with scientific precision.
Food hygiene regulations for England, Wales and Northern Ireland state that chilled food which has the potential to support the formation of toxins or the growth of pathogenic micro-organisms must be kept at a temperature of 8°C or lower. This includes every stage of its formulation from initial preparation through production, warehouse storage, transport and where it is placed for sale. It’s an offence to sell food which is considered unfit for human consumption and those responsible can be liable for hefty fines or even imprisonment.
It’s absolutely critical therefore that any area designated for food storage continually maintains the correct temperature.
With these stringent requirements, it’s hardly surprising that a problem with the chilling system is the worst nightmare of any chilled storage facility manager. Entire supply chains can be thrown into disarray, with subsequent failure to meet contractual obligations and loss of confidence in the ability of your company to deliver. Planned maintenance can also be an issue, with even a short switch-off leading to loss of productivity and income. This is where commercial chiller hire comes to the rescue.
Having a contingency plan in place for renting an industrial chiller is a sensible economic decision. There are numerous reasons why a warehouse might need extra cooling assistance. A new contract could require an increase in site capacity to maximise productivity, or an additional product could be taken on which must be stored at a different temperature to the main storage area. Seasonal adjustments might be necessary at times of increased demand, with additional areas requiring temporary chilling. Maintenance and servicing can be carried out whenever they’re needed with no reduction in output.
Additionally, the occasional issue will crop up in even the most efficient system, usually at the worst possible time, and to have a plan in place for chiller hire gives the reassurance that whatever happens, it will be business as usual.
At Ideal Heat Solutions, our aim is to take away the stress caused by an unexpected problem with your chilled storage temperature. First, we’ll visit your site and make a thorough inspection. There are a number of important considerations: access, position of power sources and layout of your site and available space. We need to ensure we allocate the correct size of industrial chiller for your specific needs and conform meticulously to health and safety guidelines.
All this takes time. In emergencies we leap into action as fast as possible, and our chiller units have solved numerous problems over the years. However, we’ve seen the anxiety that this sort of crisis causes site managers, particularly in the food storage sector where a delay can make the difference between keeping or having to dispose of hundreds of tonnes of food. As a result, we’re evangelical about contingency planning for chiller rental.
Once we have completed our site visit, we’ll have a blueprint for your particular requirements. Should you need commercial chiller hire at any time in the future, whether planned or in an emergency, it can be installed immediately.
Our professional and proactive engineers are dedicated to keeping your food storage business up and running, maximising productivity and minimising stress. If you think temporary chiller hire could benefit you, why not contact us. We’d be delighted to help keep your premises as cool as a cucumber, or any other food item, needs to be.
