Green transport for Thistle Seafoods
30 March 2010
A new distribution agreement with frozen and chilled food consolidator Reed Boardall has enhanced environmental credentials for Thistle Seafoods in Peterhead, Scotland
Supplying frozen seafood products to retailers and food service companies, Thistle Seafoods is one of the top fish processing companies in the UK. It specialises in frozen fish fillets and added value fish product, currently employing more than 300 people at its state-of-the art facility at Boddam on the Aberdeenshire coast.
It has the capacity to produce around 100 tonnes of product a day and, including its export business to Europe and North America, sales are in excess of £60m per annum.
Given their involvement with the fisheries, sustainability is a high priority at the family owned business so the fact that Reed Boardall transports around 90% of Thistle Seafoods produce in double deck trailers is a significant bonus.
“These refrigerated giants carry 40 pallets rather than the usual 26,” explains Tony Scatterty, managing director at Thistle Seafoods. “This equates to almost double the load for the same carbon footprint.”
In addition, Reed Boardall’s ability to consolidate orders at its single site in Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire is seen as a distinct advantage by Thistle Seafoods for the distribution of its products.
“Everyone is striving to be green and the frozen food market is no exception,” explained Tom Cassells, managing director of Reed Boardall Transport Limited. “We are the only single-site consolidator within Britain’s frozen food industry and this is helping food manufacturers and retailers meet their environmental targets in many ways including minimising vehicle journeys. The number of suppliers we serve ensures that more vehicles are full more often, which in turn guarantees lower CO2 emissions in the supply chain.
“Added to which, companies such as Thistle Seafoods benefit from our ability to consolidate and deliver full orders to supermarkets and food wholesalers on a daily basis. For example, if a food manufacturer in Scotland is asked to deliver two pallets to Portbury, near Bristol, it’s more than a day’s drive and the order becomes an inefficient, logistical nightmare. Our critical mass on the A1 in North Yorkshire enables us to immediately reduce journey times and we can fulfil orders efficiently within 12 hours if needs be.”
Collaboration between Reed Boardall and Thistle Seafoods says it all. Mr Scatterty confirms that his company is achieving true service levels of 99.6%.
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