Following a £16 million investment, the fast-growing company is also preparing to open a second kitchen on the Eurolink Industrial Estate in Sittingbourne, Kent. The Cook Classics facility boasts new, more efficient freezing technology, and will increase its capacity to create prepared meals by more than 60%.
Mercedes-Benz dealer Sparshatt Truck & Van, whose own headquarters are on the same development, has supplied its customer with a new 15-tonne Atego 1521 L on contract hire. The truck has a ClassicSpace S-cab and rear air suspension, and is powered by a 5.1-litre four-cylinder engine that produces 208bhp.
Its insulated body is by Solomon Commercials, of Rossendale, Lancashire and has a side door in addition to the two at the rear, plus a moving internal bulkhead – this ensures the load can be kept compact during transportation at a temperature of minus 20ºC. Frigoblock’s FK Series refrigeration unit features an integrated evaporator, freeing up space in the cargo area.
Cook’s new Atego has replaced a rented 16-tonner and been commissioned to service some of the more difficult-to-access outlets, many of them in market towns. It has lined up alongside eight other Mercedes-Benz trucks, most of them 18-tonners, and nine Sprinter vans on the company’s logistics fleet.
Cook has a distribution centre and cold store in Gillingham, from which its vehicles supply shops and concessions across southern and central England. One of the trucks, an 18-tonne Antos with sleeper cab, also makes twice-weekly collections from the company’s puddings kitchen in Ilminster, Somerset. Deliveries to stores as far afield as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Harrogate and Leeds are made by a transport partner.
Meanwhile, in response to the increased demand prompted by the pandemic, Cook’s store-based home delivery fleet has shot up from nine small, refrigerated vans a year ago, to 50 today.
Logistics manager Richard Lee joined Cook a decade ago, after its owners resolved to bring the greater part of the distribution function in-house. He recalled: “We took on some short-term rentals initially. As soon as we were in a position to do the job properly, though, we contract-hired an 18-tonne Axor from Sparshatt. It has supplied all of our trucks ever since. Reliability is the single most important factor we look for in a vehicle.”
“Sparshatt, meanwhile, provides the customer-focused back-up that ensures downtime is kept to an absolute minimum. We know from experience that its workshop team will work with us on the maintenance schedules, inspecting and servicing the vehicles overnight so they’re always available for work when we need them, and ensuring they pass their MOT tests at the first attempt.”