Hurren’s Butchers of Stevenage is a growing family business, that has provided the public and the catering trade with high-quality meat and poultry for more than 40 years. Customers from as far afield as Oxford and Cambridge rely on Hurren’s to provide high-quality food at a good price – and never more so than during the festive season. With demand high, and new catering clients on the horizon, Hurren’s challenged its trusted refrigeration contractor, Godfrey & Lappage Services, to install a new, high-performance cold room. The only catch: to avoid disrupting key seasonal deliveries, the new facility would need to be completed and fully functional within a week, without costing the earth.
A high-performing cold room delivered in a matter of days, so Hurren’s Butchers could maximize seasonal business.
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In the catering industry, the festive season is pivotal, so for Hurren’s, the pressure was on. There was the chance to win new catering clients, but also the imperative to give existing customers the high-quality food and service they expect – all at a time of peak demand.This meant the schedule for the cold room could not be allowed to slip. A major meat delivery was booked, and a new, chilled "goods-in" area would need to be waiting.Godfrey & Lappage managing director Mark Lappage explains: “We have a great relationship with Hurren’s, so we were determined not to let them down. From servicing their existing refrigeration units, we knew how strong and busy their business is – and we were confident our team could deliver to their high standards."However, the new cold room required more than just speed. It needed to be energy efficient and – given the exacting standards of Hurren’s customers – offer accurate, consistent temperature control to maximize food quality at all times.Godfrey & Lappage also wanted to be sure the equipment installed would be reliable and easy to service, to avoid any issues with the contract in the future.
To achieve the right combination of efficiency, performance, and ease of use, Mark chose a package of Danfoss products using R448A refrigerant:
Mark says: "We’d heard good things about the Danfoss product range, so we wanted to try it for ourselves."Once the cold room’s insulation box work was completed, the Godfrey & Lappage team set to work. Thanks to the easy-to-install nature of the Optyma™ Slim Pack and other Danfoss products, and the expertise of the engineers, the room was ready for its final pressure tests and checks just two days later.The unit had one more surprise up its sleeve. Due to its microchannel heat exchanger, the system required just 2.4kg of R448A refrigerant. Mark recalls: "That was a pleasant surprise; given the size of the receiver, and 15 meters of run, I had expected to need a lot more refrigerant."
With the new cold room completed so quickly, Hurren’s could even afford to bring forward its delivery. The extra capacity helped the butcher to make the most of its seasonal trading – and win valuable new catering clients in the process.Both the contractor and the customer are impressed by the unit's performance; Mark describes it as "night and day" compared to Hurren’s existing equipment.Mark says: "The Optyma™ Slim Pack ticks over like a Swiss watch. We noticed immediately how well it performed, and the customer commented on how cold it was. He was blown away by how quickly it achieved the setpoint of 1˚C.In conclusion, Mark says the Danfoss equipment has more than lived up to its reputation: "From our point of view, the system was easy to work on. It’s really robust, and it looks a pleasure to service and maintains. It’s worked out well for Hurren’s, and I’m delighted that we could help."