The customers of Fountain Foods demand a first class processed food product for their consumers, so as part of the infrastructure, are four Manitou MI25D Industrial Forklifts, which are operating at Fountain Foods six acre processing site at Upwell, near Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, central to the UK’s most fertile growing area.
James Lawrence of Fountain Foods explained the decision to invest in Manitou Industrial equipment : “We needed four industrial forklifts for the Upwell facility, predominantly in the despatch and intake areas for handling the chilled boxes of vegetables in there raw and processed forms. The Manitou (MI25D’s) are on contract hire from the local Manitou Industry dealer, HQ Forklifts of March, the advantage is that we know the fixed cost of operation so we can manage our daily business without the distraction of repairing a forklift.”
Fountain Foods are prepared vegetable specialists supplying a range of chilled and frozen processed fruit and vegetables. Popular products include battered and breaded frozen onion rings and garlic breaded and frozen mushrooms. Outlets serviced by Fountain Foods include catering supply companies as well as the retail trade.
A significant proportion of the 25,000 tonnes per annum of vegetables are sourced locally from within a 30 mile radius, upon arrival the produce is sorted, graded and washed prior to peeling, dicing or slicing depending on the requirements, before freezing or blanching. Fifty people are employed at the Upwell Site where two production shifts are operated.
James continued : “Our production site operates two full shifts and we needed reliable machinery to maintain efficiency. We have a local farm growing root vegetables and wheat so we knew about Manitou machines for rough terrain and our decision was based on the combination of brand reputation and a local Manitou Industry dealer, HQ Forklifts, who we have dealt with over many years and have an excellent track record for service back up. First impressions of the Manitou Industrial Forklift are very positive with the machines proving easy to operate.”
