Fire destroys Kent Foods warehouse in UK
Kent Foods is one of Europe’s largest independent suppliers of sugars, sweeteners, dairy products, oils and fats to the food manufacturing industry.
More than 100 firefighters attended the fire, and the company said the cause of the fire is now under investigation by Essex County Fire and Rescue, which was still on the scene as of Sunday.
Kent Foods is a key strategic link in distributing dairy products, sugars, and other ingredients, to food manufacturers throughout the UK and Europe. The company said contingency plans have now been activated to ensure continuity of supply.
Iain Dalglish, chairman of Kent Foods, said, “The news that no one was injured during this fire is most welcome. Our staff have moved quickly to transfer operations to our five other depots ensuring that disruption to customers will be minimal, if any, whilst several suppliers have interrupted their Bank Holiday to ensure we are quickly restocked. I am grateful to them all for the resilience they have shown.
“We have formed a task force to liaise with our Basildon colleagues with a view to minimizing the impact upon them until we can rebuild or establish a new base in the Essex area.”
Opened in 2015, the Basildon depot replaced the company’s Chelmsford site. It provided more than 2m cubic feet of storage space, as well as housing the bulk transport fleet.
Video footage courtesy of Essex County Fire & Rescue Service
