Charlie Bigham’s produce high quality prepared meals with an emphasis on using superior ingredients and cooking methods resulting in restaurant-quality meals for the home.

Our first project with them was working as part of a team of suppliers to equip their new production kitchen, which was built in a disused quarry in 2017.  We took the brief which included an empty space on a drawing and then designed the packing lines and sourced the equipment from a number of specialist manufacturers.  We manufactured some additional pieces of equipment to complete the lines and then installed, commissioned and provided training and, we continue to provide support to this day.

This was not the first time we had provided a turn-key package but the unique challenges that come with any new-build, especially one as interesting as this building (which has won several architectural design awards), made it a project we are particularly proud of.

The success of this project was such that Charlie Bigham’s invited us back to help them automate their final packaging after deciding to move from packing into crates to corrugated cases.  After carrying out a wide-ranging survey and study into the most appropriate ways to automate, we concluded the only way to do so, given the very limited space available, would be to install a compact robotic case packer, with the first one delivered recently.

The design of the system draws heavily upon the experience we have gained with similar applications elsewhere but with some significant design changes incorporated to reflect the particularly high standards that Charlie himself has for the aesthetics, hygiene and adjustment of any equipment installed within his production kitchen.