R12-m upgrade places Heathrow perishable facility in a new league

LEONARD NEILL BRITISH AIRWAYS World Cargo will invest R12-m in an upgrade of its Perishables Handling Centre at Heathrow Airport in the second half of this year. Styled ‘Constant Fresh’, the new facility is designed to ensure the freshness of perishable products, such as fruit, vegetables, flowers, meat and seafood, as they are moved from supplier to retailer. “Procedures relating to the acceptance and handling of perishable goods at all points have been reviewed and strengthened to ensure total integrity of the supply chain,” says Gerry Mundy, perishables manager at Heathrow. Work is currently underway to install new hoists, which will increase capacity and drive greater efficiencies throughout the handling process. This part of the work is scheduled for completion by July this year. It follows on the installation of a new production line, which is now completed, and which is capable of processing up to 8-million punnets of soft fruit a year, an increase of 30% on previous handling capacity. “We have worked closely with and listened to our customers worldwide in order to provide a product that meets all requirements. In 2004 BAWC handled more than 115 000 tonnes of perishable goods and we wanted to create a product which was tailored to the specific needs of this important sector.”