Thermoscreens’ Innovative Solution for Pickstock Foods.

Pickstock Foods is a leading British supplier of lamb and mutton products, supplying customers across the UK and Europe. Operating within a highly regulated food environment, maintaining temperature stability and hygiene standards inside refrigerated areas is critical to both product quality and operational efficiency.

Pickstock Foods required a stainless steel air curtain for food processing to help maintain hygiene standards, improve temperature stability and reduce refrigeration losses inside its Derbyshire facility.

The Challenge

The refrigerated storage area needed to consistently maintain temperatures below 6°C to protect product integrity and comply with food safety requirements. However, the large access doors were opened regularly throughout the day for stock movement and operational access.

Every door opening allowed warm external air to enter the chilled space, creating several operational challenges:

• Increased refrigeration demand and energy consumption
• Temperature instability within the cold room
• Greater strain on existing chillers
• Increased risk of flying insects entering the area
• Difficulty maintaining environmental consistency during regular washdown procedures

The site also required equipment capable of withstanding aggressive chemical cleaning and frequent hygiene washdowns without compromising reliability or performance.

The Solution

Following a detailed site survey led by Thermoscreens Sales Director Chris Collins, Thermoscreens recommended the installation of an IP66-rated HE Stainless Steel air curtain.

Purpose-built for demanding industrial and food production environments, the unit featured a durable stainless steel casing designed to withstand harsh cleaning processes and continuous exposure to moisture.

Installed above the doorway, the air curtain created a powerful air barrier that helped separate the chilled environment from surrounding ambient air whenever the doors were open. This reduced warm air ingress, improved temperature stability and helped prevent flying insects from entering the refrigerated area.

The Result

The installation delivered immediate operational improvements for Pickstock Foods.

By maintaining a more stable internal temperature, the air curtain reduced refrigeration losses and lowered the workload placed on existing cooling equipment. This helped improve overall energy efficiency while supporting the site’s strict hygiene and environmental requirements.

Additional benefits included:

• Improved cold room temperature stability
• Reduced refrigeration energy consumption
• Lower operational strain on chillers
• Improved environmental separation at the doorway
• Reduced risk of airborne contaminants and flying insects entering the area
• Reliable operation within a harsh washdown environment

Looking Ahead

The success of the installation has supported Pickstock Foods’ wider goals around energy reduction, operational efficiency and hygiene management.

Following the performance of the HE Stainless Steel air curtain, the business is now considering additional installations across other areas of the facility.

This project highlights how Thermoscreens’ specialist air curtain technology can support food manufacturers and cold storage operators with practical, measurable improvements in both efficiency and environmental control.

Read the full case study here

For more information or to find out how Thermoscreens industrial air curtains can help transform your space, don’t hesitate to get in contact with us:

☎️ +44 (0) 2476384646
📧 sales@thermoscreens.com
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