Thinking Outside the Re-Fresh Box

The idea for our lidded Re-Fresh box was developed having received feedback from the fish industry in order to supply a reusable container for prepared fillets to the catering industry and food manufacturers. With the initial trials focused on fresh fish supply chains the units are now available to all industries and the possibilities for product storage are endless.

The leak proof lidded containers are available in two sizes and can be hygienically washed through our brand new BRC approved industrial wash machine. Available for purchase or rental, we’re always thrilled to receive customer feedback and hear what great things our containers have been up to.

         Herbs “The best air tight containers I have used. Strong, stackable, washable and in my opinion designed to bounce not crack when dropped an all-round great buy.”

         Prepared meat “Ideal for us to take our butchers produce to farmers markets.”

        Pharmaceutical- “Having trialed a few options on the market my customer opted for the Re-Fresh box to be used in their shop environment for displays and stock.”

Other products currently being explored with the box are for use with prepared vegetables, seasonings and sauce sachets. If you have a Re-Fresh box, send us a photo of it in action. 

Call us on 01283 821 502 if you want to find out more.

2015 in pictures

As 2015 now draws to a close it is time to look back on the year here at PPS. It has been an eventful 2015, we began the year settled into our premises here at Marchington. 

With new members of the PPS team starting throughout the year, our sales team grew in April with Hannah joining as Sales Advisor, handling enquiries and quotes along with social media and marketing aspects. After a busy Easter period the spring drew to a close and we welcomed summer with open arms, the accounts department greeted Diane to their team as Accounts Administrator to handle invoicing and credit control.

Into summer the temperature are really started to hot up as we prepared for the Meat Up exhibition held at Stoneleigh park, it happened to fall on the hottest few days of the year. An event for the whole meat industry to come together to see the latest innovations and technology alongside competitions.  

During August Charlotte was introduced to the Operations department working alongside Andy Moss our Operations Manager in running the day to day logistics of deliveries and collections, booking in drivers and handling stock control from our 24/7 wash site. We also redesign our lorry curtains which are part of the Jeffreys Haulage fleet.

As the summer drew to a close we were thrilled to announce the news of PPS acquiring Alison Handling Services, an exciting venture increasing the services of the PPS group. Alison Handling stocks 1000’s of plastic products suitable for a multitude of industries from bakery trays to pallet boxes to plastic dollys, all available on a next day delivery.

In September PPS attended the Movers and Storers show, a key exhibition in the Removals Industry held at Silverstone racetrack. The show was held over two days and consisted of keynote seminars held in the learning zone. Another successful event enjoying the company of both new and current customers. We also had the pleasure of staying in a Snoozebox, a 40ft container made into four bedrooms perfect for short stays.

September was a huge month for our Grimsby operation with the move to our new warehouse facility, almost tripling the size of our wash site. To celebrate, our open day was held to coincide with the World Seafood Congress of which we had the pleasure of welcoming Pete Ward, CEO of Youngs to cut the ribbon.

After introducing our Re-Fresh box to the fish industry in May at the Seafood Expo in Brussels, it was then released for purchase, rental and wash to industries including food, automotive and pharmaceutical. A brand new machine was also installed design to specifically wash the new box and lid to BRC standards.  

With an increased focus on waste throughout 2015, it is sure to continue to receive strong focus into 2016. Our MD Joanne Moss spoke with Food Manufacture to discuss returnable transit packaging in the food industry, inevitably reducing waste in the supply chain. Click here to read the article.

We wish all of our customers a very happy Christmas and look forward to welcoming many more of you on board during 2016.

Do you use Instagram? Follow us via @PPSMIDLANDS for our images throughout 2016.

Tray Washing - BRC Accredited

The process of Tray Washing could be one of the most overlooked factor of many firms that carry food and other products into and around the supply chain. Traceability of all goods within the supply chain, even those that carry the produce has to be managed, as well as the associated tray washing and management of the Plastic Returnable Trays.  

PPS Midlands and PPS East deliver a ”BRC” accredited tray washing & crate washing service, tray hire & crate hire, bulk bin washing and hire, satisfying many customers’ requirements.  

Our site in Grimsby, has recently invested in a whole new tray washing line, to focus on the Non Fish food production around the South and North Humberside areas. The Crate washing line has been set up to accept the industry standard 600mm x 400mm tray/crate, with a high flow rate through the line we are able to deliver on short, long and adhoc tray washing requirements.  

BRC Accreditation -  What’s involved? 

• Washing and sterilisation of plastic crates, Trays, bins and pallets

• High Pressure and high temperature cleaning   

• Swab Testing   

• Logistics and transport of the washed equipment.   

• Wrapping of clean trays for transit   

Crate washing is at the very heart of PPS and our client base extends all across the UK, into a range of markets places, fresh produce, poultry, red meats, automotive components and fish.  

There are many environmental benefits to using returnable plastic containers;   

• Reduced waste  
• Sterilised containers reducing the risk of contamination  
• Reduced vehicle miles – Consolidation  
• End of life recycling factors   

Read this WRAP report - a more comprehensive breakdown of the benefits & environmental performance of single-trip and reusable packaging systems.  

PPS Midlands state of the art crate washing lines, are ready to wash variable sized units either rigid side nestable crates or bale arm trays, collapsible trays, tote boxes, plastic pallets, in addition we also offer pallet washing amenities with our automated pallet washing machine.  

Replacing cardboard within the supply chain is often simple to achieve and in most cases can bring about reductions in operational costs and time spent managing waste materials.   All of the equipment that is managed by PPS undergoes a series of inspections while in service, these include visual inspections for any damage and signs of deterioration within the tray or crate structure, removal of labels and other debris from the tray/crate prior to washing, visual inspection and periodic swab testing of the trays/crates once through the tray washing plant. The clean equipment is then stacked on to plastic or timber pallets and wrapped in shrink wrap to make certain that the trays remain clean for their next use. The stacking heights for the trays can be varied depending on the type and size of vehicle that is to collect the washed trays.

PPS Midlands Limited and PPS East Limited are returnable transit packaging specialists. If you are interested in reducing your costs, waste and environmental footprint, then you should contact us with regards to reusable equipment and pallet pooling, plastic crate, box, container rental and supply, product repairs and equipment washing.