R S Cockerill completes £3m investment in potato line
The investment – part funded by an EU Productivity Grant – saw the installation of four new grading lines and was the 42nd order completed for the potato grower by Haith.
Each new line featured a Haith rota-tip box tippler, washer and destoner, polisher and direct drive dryers. Haith also integrated Key Oculus optical sorters, Newtec 4015 weighers, GIC vertical form fill and seal packaging machines, and LAN robots at the end of the line.
‘Second to none’
Commenting on the partnership, R S Cockerill managing director Rufus Pilgrim said: “We have an excellent relationship with the team at Haith, and the service and standard of the machines we receive from them are second to none.
“This latest project ran very smoothly from start to finish, helped enormously by the great relationship that John Robinson, R S Cockerill’s Engineering Manager and David Elvidge, Operations Manager, have with the design, planning and installation teams at Haith. This investment has allowed us to improve our flexibility and productivity and futureproof our business.”
Established in the 1930s by Ronald S. Cockerill, Cockerill’s relationship dates back to the year 2000 when present chairman and son of the founder Martin Cockerill placed an order for its first grading line.
‘People buy from people’
“Things have changed a lot in 21 years, with some amazing advances in technology, but one thing has remained the same and that is, at the end of the day, people buy from people, and we still get along with everyone at Haith exceptionally well.” Pilgrim continued.
Duane Hill, sales director for Haith, added: “It is very satisfying to see that both companies have continued to grow in the years that we have worked together.
“We are very grateful to Martin Cockerill's continued loyalty to Haith, and we like to think that our machines have played a part in their continued success.”
Meanwhile, Grain processor Sedamyl is to create up to 75 new jobs as part of a £80m investment into its Yorkshire plant.
