1 | Challenge: Increasing energy flexibility and operational efficiency at a cold storage distribution centre
Bidfood is one of the UK's largest foodservice suppliers, serving customers in the hospitality, restaurant and catering sectors. The company operates over 28 distribution centres across the country, ensuring reliable deliveries of fresh and frozen food while maintaining the highest quality standards. The company's strategic objective is to optimise costs and increase operational efficiency while maintaining supply chain flexibility.
The opening of a new distribution centre in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, presented a complex operational challenge: to ensure the reliable and efficient performance of the materials handling equipment (MHE) fleet operating in both frozen and ambient environments. A further complication was the overnight picking process, which often required the trucks to be back in operation during the day.
To meet this demanding schedule, Bidfood needed a solution that would ensure maximum equipment availability, reduce charging times and control energy costs. To meet these requirements, Bidfood sought a technology partner that could not only provide efficient battery and charger systems, but also ongoing service and technical support across its network of over 28 distribution centres throughout the UK.
HOPPECKE stepped in as a strategic partner, providing a comprehensive power solution tailored to the specific needs of the Biggleswade site. With advanced battery technologies, intelligent chargers and a nationwide service infrastructure, HOPPECKE has been supporting Bidfood's logistics operations since 2005 - ensuring performance, uptime and cost efficiency.
2 | Solution: Uninterrupted warehouse operations with intelligent charging and long-life batteries
To meet Bidfood's operational requirements at its Biggleswade hub, HOPPECKE implemented a complete power solution based on trak | uplift air batteries and intelligent high frequency chargers trak | charger HF premium. This combination proved ideal for the site's mixed temperature environment and demanding picking schedules. The system enables reliable multishift operation of the material handling equipment (MHE) without the need for battery changes - providing flexibility and uptime even when trucks are operating day and night.
By using Opportunity Charging, Bidfood ensures that vehicles can be recharged during routine breaks and overnight without compromising battery life or warranty conditions. This operational flexibility supports the complex logistics of the depot without the need for spare batteries or downtime, helping to streamline both warehouse space usage and process management.
HOPPECKE batteries typically achieve up to 10 years of life in ambient conditions and around 7 years in cold stores. This long service life, combined with efficient charging, delivers significant energy savings- on average over 30% compared to previous systems. Energy monitoring also supports strategic decisionmaking across Bidfood’s logistics network. A key part of the solution is the service model: under a national agreement, HOPPECKE engineers perform
regular maintenance and water refills at all Bidfood sites, including Biggleswade, helping prevent downtime and ensuring reliable system performance.
The long-standing partnership between Bidfood and HOPPECKE continues to deliver measurable benefitscombining advanced battery technology with a robust service infrastructure to support the company's logistics objectives. With energy efficiency, safety and reliability as priorities, the Biggleswade hub is now operating at full capacity while meeting sustainability targets and reducing its carbon footprint. Thanks to this tailored energy solution, Bidfood is well
positioned to meet future logistics challenges as the business grows.
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