WAREHOUSE FIT OUT WORLD FEEDS

Founded in 2004, World Feeds was built on the simple premise of improving the way fish are fed. Technical Director Mark Wilson history in ornamental aquaculture led him to creating the world’s first commercial clownfish hatchery.

Whilst setting this up, he realised that the food on the market at the time, didn’t fulfil the nutritional requirements of the diverse range of fish. The food products on offer were catch-all solutions that didn’t meet the varying dietary needs of different fish.

World Feeds have formed a team of fish experts, scientists and engineers to create and manufacture fish food that does just that. They have a global presence, with their products exported to over 40 countries around the world, from their premises in Thorne, Doncaster.

Initially they contacted us to design and build an office mezzanine floor solution within one of their warehouses. We designed their new facilities, complete with cleanroom and manufacturing facilities, only to discover that the concrete slab wasn’t sufficiently strong enough to accommodate a mezzanine floor.

We proposed a process called ‘piling’ which involves the strengthening of the concrete floor at the load points of the mezzanine columns, however once it was priced up, it unfortunately wasn’t within their budget.

We sat down with World Feeds to discuss alternative solutions and they mentioned the possibility of fitting out their other warehouse instead, featuring another mezzanine floor, however we soon discovered that floor wasn’t strong enough either, so it was back to the drawing board.

Eventually, World Feeds settled on the design and build of brand new cleanroom and manufacturing facilities within their manufacturing warehouse.

We’ve sectioned off the new cleanroom and manufacturing facilities within their warehouse by installing isoclad composite panels up to the apex of the building. These panels are ideal for cold storage and wet rooms as they are easy to clean.

Within the isoclad wall we have installed a rapid roller electric door to allow easy access for products and to ensure the area is sealed when employees aren’t entering or exiting the facilities. We’ve created changing facilities upon entry for World Feeds employees, complete with cleanroom facilities to ensure they don’t contaminate the fish food.

World Feeds also required a soundproofed room for their louder machines. We achieved this by installing two isoclad panels with insulation in between. Whilst above the room we installed an isoclad ceiling with a suspended ceiling below.

The warehouse floor has been finished off with a two part epoxy resin paint, which is ideal for heavy use areas. It provides great abrasion resistance with a smooth and long lasting finish. We went for a blue colour throughout, with walkways highlighted in yellow.

World Feeds also required a wash down area for employees once they finished their shift, so we’ve installed an underground drainage system underneath the wet room to take away the excess water.

All suspended ceilings throughout are food safe and the LED lighting is IP65 rated to ensure that they’re water and dust proof. We designed and built the ventilation system throughout the new facilities and installed the new power points for World Feeds machinery too.

The project was completed during the coronavirus lockdown too, so this extended the project to 16 weeks instead of the 12 it originally was going to take. However once we knew Covid-19 would affect the initial programme of works, we created a brand new programme and the build went ahead without a hitch.

We ensured that only one contractor was on site at one time and provided designated toilets and wash down areas for each contractor.

‘Choosing Nexus ended up being not too difficult of a decision to make. The simple difference is that the other companies were very simple and industrial. David presented a very strong case and they put together a really nice offer that we felt was the right one to go with.’

‘Once we’d made the decision and agreed on a price, Matt came in. Him and David make a really good team, they are very complimentary, but also very committed and excited about their company and we felt really comfortable with them.’

‘The professionalism and detail that they went into essentially enabled us to trust them. The way they work fitted in very nicely with our culture.’ – Peter Kersh, Managing Director, World Feeds