A £2.5 million project to help future-proof Grimsby seafood operations will start this September, after match-funding was secured.
Fastnet’s £1.2 million award as part of the second round of the Ƶ Seafood Fund will see the business significantly increase cold storage capacity and its efficiency within its existing South Humberside Industrial Estate footprint. More than £5 million is heading to the town, building on £7.4 million in the first phase.
A mini gound-standing solar farm will also be developed on the site, while voltage optimisation technology is also deployed as two chambers are overhauled with a 150 per cent uplift when it comes to pallet space. A number of additional jobs are anticipated, with completion eyed for next June.
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Matt Renshaw, managing director, identified the opportunity on his arrival at the Andrew Marr International entity, having moved from an executive role at Young’s Seafood 15 months ago.
He said: “Fastnet is a great business with a strong foundation and on joining I was clear we could get more from the assets we have got. Coming from a business where we knew cold storage had been really tight across the industry, I felt like it was a great opportunity to invest and grow capacity for the town and the Ƶ.
“We are a key cog in the industry, and cold storage has been a real challenge, it is a fundamental and real foundation for what happens here.”
Fastnet acts as a buying operation for others in the sector, storing, delivering and dealing with technical and additional functional requirements. Sister companies include vessel owners, with the additional capacity allowing for rapid service into the cluster.
“It is a great town, the industry has so much potential and this is about trusting and investing in that,” Mr Renshsaw continued. “There has not been huge investment, perhaps one or two elements, but the framework in use has been there for the past 30 years and there has been a lack of investment across the board. A lot of the cold storage is old, so to be able to do this, to help make Grimsby great again, is a source of pride. And it is great to see a number of companies really backing it by matching these investments in the industry.”
He said the company was “upskilling and upscaling the operation” while building on another recent intervention. When Cook & Lucas collapsed earlier this year it took on those employed in the Riby Street shop, where the public and the mobile fishmonger fleet were supplied from. It has opened a trade operation within the Estate Road Five site, and will be adding a public-facing element backed by fresh fish filleting within a 10-strong team in the near future, under the Great Grimsby Fish Company brand.
“We aim to provide a first class facility,” he said.
Principal contractor on the scheme will be Grimsby’s Coldstar Refrigeration Ltd.
Rick Lewis, service manager for the business, based on the same industrial estate, said: “It is great to see a dynamic business making a decision to make an investment the best it can be. It is great to see, especially in this town, where there can be a tendency to put sticking plasters on stuff. This is an investment in infrastructure and people. Grimsby is a massive place for us. We operate nationally and while it is a small town, the business here is huge for us.”
