SH Pratt Group to set up temp controlled distribution facility at DP World London Gateway

August 04, 2017: SH Pratt Group is to take a lease on a bespoke temperature-controlled distribution facility at DP World London Gateway.

The Luton-based firm - one of Europe’s leading fruit importers and ripeners - has agreed a ground-breaking deal to site its new business, named Halo, at the fully integrated logistics facility.

Within the 108,555sq ft, state-of-the-art, multi-chambered warehouse, Halo will handle multi-temperature products, before distributing them to the UK consumer market. The operation will draw on SH Pratt Group’s expertise to deliver reductions in cost and enhancements in quality.

Located within DP World London Gateway Logistics Park’s West Zone, the facility will feature multiple temperature regimes, from frozen to ambient – enabling flexible multi-use – and employ the most advanced IT systems to aid monitoring of products and ensure quality.

Enterprise resource planning software (ERP) will ensure customers can track the progress of their goods through a portal. In the future, some Port Health inspections may take place within the Halo facility.

The decision to site the new venture at DP World London Gateway Logistics Park will reduce the distance, journey time, waste and cost for customers of moving products – ensuring a more sustainable temperature-controlled supply chain.

The one-stop Halo centre will handle goods arriving at DP World London Gateway Port from a number of countries around the world. Halo is part of SH Pratt Group’s programme of investment over the last few years and will be supported by Kinship Logistics, its wholly-owned logistics subsidiary, together with FreshLinc, the venture’s strategic logistics partner.

This will provide access to more than 400 vehicles nationwide, supporting UK and wider European access to and from the facility.

David Bateman, managing director, SH Pratts Group, said, “Halo is a new venture under the SH Pratt Group banner. The business will see us drawing on our expertise in delivering a quality service when it comes to handling a wide range of products. Subject to final design details being agreed, Halo will be operating the port’s first temperature-controlled, chilled and frozen supply chain facility.

“DP World London Gateway is perfectly positioned close to the M25 and has unrivalled access to the rest of the UK. This will mean we are able to pass on tangible savings to customers and also reduce demurrage by offering a rapid turnaround.

“This will be a state-of-the-art, fully accredited, fully-focused facility which, coupled with SH Pratt Group’s expertise, will deliver beyond the expectations of our customers.”

Chris Lewis, chief executive officer, DP World London Gateway, said, “In just over a year’s time, SH Pratt Group will have a world-class, temperature controlled distribution facility on the same site as a world-class semi-automated port, located right on the doorstep of the UK’s biggest consumer market with unrivalled access to the whole of the country.

Subject to agreement of final design details, construction work will start in late 2017. The building is scheduled to be operational by mid-late 2018.