Delivery fleet upgrade puts food firm on the road to expansion

Hull-based Alpine Fine Foods has taken delivery of nine new refrigerated vehicles under a three-year contract with Beerhouse Self Drive, also based in Hull. Nine more vehicles will be delivered in the spring.

The investment, which totals more than £300,000, will enable Alpine to expand its area of operation by providing a wider reach for its range of ambient, chilled and frozen products.

The independent food wholesaler and distributor currently supplies products including cheese, raw meat, ice cream, pasta, cleaning products and cooking utensils to the catering trade across North and East Yorkshire and north Lincolnshire.

Peter McAlpin, who set up Alpine Fine Foods with co-director Darren Peacock nearly 11 years ago, said: “We’ve taken nine new vans and Beerhouse will also have an extra vehicle in reserve. They’re only round the corner, so we’ll be covered when a van goes in for service.

“It’s a significant fleet upgrade and it will support our plans to expand along the M62 corridor during the first quarter of this year.”

The move comes less than a year after Alpine secured backing from the Hull-based investment businesses MWS Group and JSJ Partnership.

Since that deal, Alpine has increased staffing levels by 10 to 59 at the company’s premises on the Sutton Fields Industrial Estate in Hull after developing a customer base which includes health and education establishments, staff canteens and a range of leisure and hospitality businesses.

“We cover everything from burger vans to Michelin-star restaurants,” said Mr Peacock, sales director.

“It’s a really varied customer base and what we’re working on now is the geography.

“Our business has been built on a commitment to offering the products and purchasing power of a large organisation while maintaining the service levels of a local, independent business.

“The initial investment last year enabled us to fulfil our aspirations for growing the business and filling the gap in the market that we’d identified.

“The expansion of the fleet means that we can now do more, with quicker turnaround of products for customers across a wider area.”

Phil Moses, sales director at Beerhouse Self Drive, said the new vehicles were sourced to a precise specification, with the refrigeration unit under the bonnet.

“This design is ideal for the sort of work that Alpine do – out all day, stopping and starting and making multiple drop-offs,” he said.

“These vans have more space than the original fleet and they’re more economical to run.

“The fleet package that we have put together suits Alpine because they need to keep their fleet up to date and reducing down-time is critical. As a local supplier we’re perfectly placed to help them do that.”

Alpine Fine Foods is aiming to achieve a turnover of £6m this year as it continues an expansion programme, which it said is likely to include acquisitions.