Bidfood has moved its Worthing depot to a brand new 64,000 sq. ft site in Lancing, also in West Sussex. The building, which is 60% larger than its previous home, has been opened as part of the business’ plans to provide the best infrastructure to deliver service excellence.
Trading from Monday 17 September 2018, the new depot has been developed with the latest facilities and has created a 20% increase in jobs for the area.
The depot is equipped with a range of food holding areas from a 25k sq. ft ambient storage space, 13.7k sq. ft freezer, 1.8k sq. ft chilled store and a 7.4k sq. ft chill marshall area. The building has also been designed to incorporate a large customer experience centre, which is currently in planning stages.
The space will facilitate Bidfood’s work in partnership with food and drink suppliers to test and develop new products, as well as support with menu development and innovation for customers along the South Coast. It will comprise a bar, deli, a fully operational industrial kitchen and non-food catering suite.
In addition, 100% of the current team are being transferred to the new site which boasts a large office space and brand new warehouse. The move is also set to provide more career opportunities in the local area, from telesales professionals to drivers.
What’s more, the new office will appeal to local customers by offering a Sunday telesales service to help streamline Bidfood’s customer service along the South Coast, from Bognor Regis, to Winchelsea and as far inland as West Horsley in Surrey.
The site will include a variety of sustainable features including: lighting that will ensure a safe working environment and photocell activation to reduce energy consumption, refrigeration that has zero ozone depletion potential and zero global warming potential, which should significantly reduce energy consumption, as well as sustainable building materials and a ‘SUDS’ drainage system installed for storm water disposal.
Speaking about the new site, Norman Wemyss, COO at Bidfood, said, “It is an exciting time for our team in Worthing. The new site has an array of features that are designed to better support the needs of customers, which will in turn aid the team in their mission to continue to grow Bidfood’s business and provide service excellence on the South Coast.
“The site development is a great opportunity to help grow and support the local economy by providing new business opportunities along with more jobs.”