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2 minute read

New £1m factory puts staff health & safety first

Global iced drinks manufacturer Polar Krush has unveiled a £1 million factory refit which is focused on staff health and wellbeing, enabling the team to increase their output by 500 percent.

The new Polar Krush factory is not your typical workplace. While the company has experienced rapid growth over the past twelve months, the core characteristics of the brand have remained the same: “natural”, “packed with flavour”, “healthy” and these themes have soaked into the fabric of the new refit.

Taking into consideration staff feedback and consultation, the colourful, well-lit interior creates a positive environment while cutting-edge technology, to fully automate the factory line, has allowed Polar Krush to create a more streamlined and stress-free environment for staff as the business continues to grow.

Automated & stress-free: part of the £1m investment was to streamline processes at their factory / Picture: Polar Krush

 

Bright graphics adorn the walls while cheerful staff buzz around the complex creating more than a hint of a company taken straight from the pages of a Roald Dahl classic.

Paul Goldfinch, founder of Polar Krush, said; “12.5 million working days were lost due to work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2016/17 in the UK alone. At Polar Krush our staff are our greatest asset and improvements to the factory floor and rest areas allow them to have a much better working environment. Physical work space has a direct impact on employee productivity and morale and it makes perfect sense to generate an environment that is conducive to the wellbeing of our talented people.

“From filling boxes, collating and palletising; we are now all fully automated. As well as allowing us to increase our output and productivity dramatically, our factory revamp also allows us to upskill and retrain our staff, ensuring that we are giving them the best possible footing for their careers.”

Alongside internal promotions and retraining, the company has created 20 new jobs for the North East in the past two years. New members of the team are already in place in production and warehouse roles to help manage the dramatic increase in customer orders in 2017.

Bright & Cheerful: Polar Krush also want to throw open their doors to school groups to help children learn how a factory works / Picture: Polar Krush

 

The new automated factory line is powered by the 212 solar panels on the factory roof so no additional energy is used, keeping the company’s environmental impact to a minimum.

Polar Krush also plan to welcome school groups behind the scenes with the aim of helping children to better understand how a large business works in a fun and engaging way.

The launch comes close behind Polar Krush’s bold move to make its products completely sugar free, as well as using natural colours and flavours in its drinks range. The company is currently the only major manufacturer in the UK to combine natural flavoring and colours with a sugar-free recipe.