A coldroom is a large investment for any organisation. It's no surprise that longevity and reliability are two of the main considerations for any new project that requires one. 

With over 40 years of experience, Williams Refrigeration has established an unrivalled reputation for their bespoke modular coldrooms. They can be fully customised to meet a range of requirements and have been installed in a huge variety of locations, from butchers and restaurants to more surprising places like florists, laboratories and even forests, for the Forestry Commission.

Williams coldrooms are designed to be extremely reliable and long-lasting. Using thermally efficient, zero ODP foam insulated panels and tongue-and-groove Camlocks they create a highly stable structure that eliminates the risk of ice build-up in joints and ensures a complete thermal envelope. 

Two projects Williams undertook a number of years ago illustrate the customisability and reliability of its coldroom range. The Beatson Institute based in Glasgow University is one of the world's leading centres of cancer research. In 2008 it moved into a purpose-built, state-of-the-art facility, built by HBG Construction, which included seven temperature-controlled rooms. One was specially designed to be vibration free, isolated from the ambient vibration of the building's structure. They remain in regular use nearly a decade later.

In 2010 the University of Reading opened its Central Kitchen, a specialist building devoted to producing a large percentage of the food sold on its campus and capable of producing over 40,000 items of food every week. This is a large cook-chill facility, for which Williams working in conjunction with The Russell Partnership and Court Catering, providing powerful blast chillers and a suite of bespoke coldrooms.

This suite consists of a number of rooms dedicated to storing a variety of different foods, as well as preparation rooms and a secure holding bay. It helps provides the university with a fully traceable HACCP temperature controlled system from point of delivery to point of service.

So how are the coldrooms holding up six years on from the installation? Julie Frost, head of catering operations at University of Reading, is impressed. "They’ve been really good," she says, "Any minor issues have been caused by natural wear and tear.”

It was imperative for University of Reading that the refrigeration was completely reliable. At such high levels of productivity, food safety is a huge consideration.

"We’ve had no issues with the coldrooms holding temperature," says Julie. "They've been absolutely rock solid – just as good as the day they were installed!"

Julie has also been pleased with the support Williams provides. "A year after the project was initially installed we did notice a few minor issues with the coldrooms. Williams engineers investigated the issue, resolving it by adjusting the position of the compressors. The support they provided was second to none!"