Case study

FSA approved Meat Cutting Plant for Dart Fresh

Increased demand from both trade and retail sectors led John Pritchard, Director at Dart Fresh, to install a state-of-the-art Fisher UK FSA approved meat cutting plant at the Exeter Headquarters, which now means that they can receive whole beef bodies and lamb carcasses from Dartmoor.

fisher butchery unit at dart Fresh dart freah logo

John Pritchard was looking at leasing an existing cutting plant, but this was off-site. The new cutting plant allowed John to utilise wasted space at his existing premises, so his foodservice business is now all under the one roof.

The installation comprised of three individual modules, each one approx. 8 x 3.6m, which came together on site to create a single facility. Each module was built off-site in our factory environment, which gave the client no disruption during the construction phase.

In Fisher UK’s factory all the components to make up the facility were fitted in each module, such as walls and ceilings, doors, ceilings, electrics, plumbing, refrigeration, and roofing. The modules were delivered to site on articulated lorries and our installation team had them reconnected and weatherproofed within a 24-hour period. A PU resin finished floor was applied on site to complete the project.

Comparable to traditional methods of construction our solutions offer vastly reduced timescales, lower on-site man hours and consequently reduced health and safety risk. The whole facility created a layout that allows an efficient flow of product and personnel which was designed by our in-house team at Fisher UK, their expert knowledge of FSA approvals gave the client confidence that approval will be granted.

The cutting plant is made up of an intake lobby, main chiller, work in progress chiller, main production room, packing room, and dispatch chiller. Personnel enter through a separate area with changing room and hygiene area.

Jon Fisher, Technical Director at Fisher UK, was able to consult with the team at Dart Fresh from initial concept to an operational facility.

He says “Working with the Dart Fresh team to develop the concept was very straightforward, they knew exactly where they wanted to get to, they had a clear vision of where the new facility could be positioned, and a very clear understanding of how they wanted to operate which made design process run very smoothly, after a short period of time and consideration over various design plans the new facility was ready to be put in to manufacture”.

“I first saw a venison processing facility by Fisher UK and knew this was the right solution for Dart Fresh. I had considered my options in terms of buying a second premises, however, it suits us down to the ground to be able to process meat onsite and adds so much to the business. The installation went very smoothly indeed, and I’m delighted with the result.”

John Pritchard Director, Dart Fresh

A Fisher UK Farm shop & Butchery is a turnkey solution, built off-site for minimal disruption to working farms. This solution can help any landowner sell from the farm gate and profit and benefit from processing their own meat, in their own on-site facility.