The Customer
Pukka, the UK’s biggest pie brand, was founded in 1963 and is a family run business that produces over 60 million pies per year. Its infamous pies are a familiar product in supermarkets and shops, as well as football stadiums and fish and chip shops across the UK.
The Requirement
Year-on-year success has enabled the pie manufacturer to continue to reinvest back into the business. As part of a three-year business plan to support growth, Pukka introduced innovative technology to further advance its business and production capabilities, appointing Starfrost to design and install two spiral freezers at its bakery in Syston, Leicestershire.
The Solution
A new spiral freezing system was designed to replace the previous equipment and provide a reliable freezing solution that enables an increase in manufacturing throughput, reduces downtime, and minimises water usage. A state-of-the-art air defrost mechanism enables up to 12 hours of uninterrupted operation, while the automatic cleaning systems minimise downtime and reduce water usage. As a result, the spiral freezers future-proof Pukka’s production capabilities to support any upcoming product development or expansion plans.
Peter Gull, Engineering & Projects Manager at Pukka:
“Starfrost were an obvious choice for us, we were aware of the quality engineered equipment they produced and their position within the food processing industry. Central to the decision for selecting Starfrost was the company’s ability to offer a bespoke solution that worked within our existing infrastructure and tailored to our products and production line as opposed to an ‘off the shelf’ standard design.”
“The Starfrost spiral freezers work efficiently and as per specification. The new equipment has enabled us to future proof our production capabilities to support any upcoming product development or expansion plans. As a food manufacturer, I don’t think you can ever underestimate the value of quality processing equipment that works exactly how it has been designed to and Starfrost has met our expectations.”