April 2012

Welcome to the first newsletter of “The Season” – the traditional start to the ice cream season  at Easter – although this is less and less significant as each year goes by…. Whatever your business, “make hay whilst the sun shines”!

RSS Hereford Lends a Hand to Help Blend Traditional and Modern

When Charles Dixon’s father bought a long established ice cream business in Lockwood near Huddersfield in 1961, little did he know that he was helping to continue a traditional family business that is still going strong in the year 2012. Long gone are the horse and cart that delivered the ice cream, but the traditional values of good quality product and friendly customer service are still intact and are the reason Dixons Milk Ices remains a famous family destination today.

Not only is their business doing well, even in a time of economic recession, but the present owners, Charles Dixon and Charles Cartwright have just expanded and opened a second ice cream shop on the Leeds Road in Huddersfield. Along this very busy strip into town you will find the new Dixons Milk Ices fighting for position amongst the internationally renowned brands such as Costa Coffee, McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

The shop premises that they secured had had many uses including a butchers and a bookies prior to the Charles’s taking it over last year. In order to help a very traditional business integrate into this new modern and vibrant market place, they hired RSS Hereford to produce a layout and design for both the retail and the production area where they will freeze ice cream fresh on the premises daily. The secret family recipe will be kept at Lockwood where the bulk mix will continue to be made. Dixons Milk Ices at Leeds Road will be made using the Telme Ecogel 20/60 vertical batch freezer with inverter which was selected for its fast freezing power, energy saving function and flexible freezing capacities.  The compact production area also houses a double bowl sink, a 24 Napoli pan Tekna storage freezer and other refrigeration also supplied by RSS Hereford.

The new shop features two 12 Napoli pan Andromeda ice cream display cabinets from Bocchini which are separated by a unique bar counter with glass shelves that was made to store and display bags of sweets. The stainless steel lower back counter from Bocchini was installed and the upper part made bespoke on site by RSS Hereford. This features aqua back painted glass panelling, shelving and down lighters whilst cleverly integrating a vertical display fridge for soft drinks. Even the unsightly and inconvenient head of the stairs to the cellar was turned into a useful back counter work surface with display shelving above by RSS Hereford. The front of the bar counter and the display cabinets were painted in a mixture of “Dixons Blue” and Ivory. As well as selling their own scooped ice cream, you’ll also be able to buy coffee, slush and sweets from the Leeds Road site well into the night.

To see more for yourself visit Dixons Milk Ices at 275 Leeds Road, Huddersfield or e-mail dixonsmilkices@hotmail.com. To find out how RSS Hereford can help your business with ice cream production equipment, display cabinets or shop fittings contact sales@rsshereford.co.uk.

RSS Hereford Working Hard To Save You Money!

In the first quarter this year, we are proud to say that 85% of Service Department Calls taken by RSS Hereford were resolved without requiring an engineer call out to you our customers. Most equipment suppliers will send an engineer out to diagnose a fault and then book in another engineer visit to resolve the problem with the necessary spare parts and charge you for both visits. This is because other equipment suppliers budget a turnover each year in order to make money out of service work but our aim is simple – to keep our customers happy! What this means is that your equipment is up and running faster, leaving you to run your business and make ice cream without costly service visits. We are proud of the fact that our experienced engineers can diagnose the majority of faults on our equipment over the telephone saving you time and money. Another two reasons why you should choose RSS Hereford as your supplier of choice for Artisan Ice Cream Equipment, Display Cabinets and Italian Bar Counter Systems.

Bocchini Fluor Cabinet Stands Out in London

Two of the Gelato Kings of London, Scoop Natural Luxury Gelato and Oddono’s Gelati have both selected the Bocchini Fluor ice cream display cabinet to show off and keep their award winning Gelato and Ice Cream Cakes in the best condition. Both of these competitors have agreed, when they opened their latest shops in London, that this cabinet is still the best on the market. The ‘Fluor’ can also be found at their shops Scoop, Covent Garden and Oddono’s, Whiteleys. Scoop has tried the Pinin Farina Styled B45 Bocchini display cabinet at the Soho Shop but has returned to the more classical Italian design of the Fluor. The curved lift up front glass, optional LED lighting, great angle of display, accommodation of large “Italian” pans, wide top shelf for merchandising and wide rear work surface, confirm why the Fluor comes out on top.

If you are looking for a more modern look then the Fluor Euclide may be more suitable where the same cabinet body is fitted with a straight, vertical front glass and is available in three different heights.  All cabinets come with low heat generating fluorescent lighting and pull down blinds for rear closure. To complete your installation the Fluor cabinet is also available refrigerated for patisserie, gastronomy and chocolates or as a hot gastronomy cabinet. Bocchini is able to supply complimentary bar counters and refrigeration or, if preferred the cabinets are available for finishing off by your own shop fitter.

To see the Bocchini Fluor cabinet for yourself visit these new London installations at Scoop Natural Luxury Gelato, 16 Old Brompton Road, South Kensington or Oddono’s Gelati, 69 Northcote Road, Battersea. To send for a brochure on any of the cabinets available from Bocchini in the UK and Ireland, contact us at sales@rsshereford.co.uk.

180Kg Pasteuriser In Stock To Try Before You Buy

Hot off the delivery truck is a 180Kg pasteuriser from Valmar that is capable of mixing a full load of ice cream mix to near homogenisation speeds.  This machine is used in some of the largest batch ice cream manufacturing facilities in Europe.  With automatic and semi-automatic modes of operation it will suit all types of ice cream mix and new or experienced manufacturers alike. To arrange your free, no obligation trial on any of our ice cream production equipment contact Lisa on 01432 276777 or e-mail sales@rsshereford.co.uk.

Rural Economy Grant Open For Applications – closes April 30th!

Farmers and rural businesses are invited to apply for the Rural Economy Grant, which was opened for applications on February 29. According to Defra this will provide grants to “enable a significant ‘game changing’, transformational performance in farm, forestry, tourism, agri-food businesses and micro businesses in rural areas of England”. The REG is aimed at larger scale projects and grants will be awarded of between £25,000 and circa £1 million (no set upper limit).  It will support up to 40 per cent of total eligible costs of a project with the remainder being matched by private funds.

• The grant is based on several themes:
  Farm Competitiveness including nutrient management, animal health and welfare and water resource management
  
  
• Investment in rural tourism including accommodation
  
  
• Forestry including modernising supply chains, developing new products, and developing the market for high quality woodfuel
  
  
• Agri-food including new products and entering new markets, processing and packaging and supply chain initiatives
  
  
• Micro-enterprise support in Rural Growth Network Areas (these areas are due to be selected by the end of March 2012).

The grant will potentially support a wide range of projects based on the above themes, however as funding is limited applicants will need to prove to Defra that their project will provide significant benefits to their business such as increased turnover, increased efficiency or performance, job creation, access to new markets, added value etc.

The application process is in two stages. Stage one will involve the submission of an outline application which will need to include details of the project, and information on how it will fit with the overall aims of the appropriate grant theme. Information is also required on the need and demand for the investment and the overall benefits of the project. This is a very important stage as the outline application will be assessed by Defra and scored against certain criteria. Only those projects which score well will be invited to move to stage two and submit a full application with business plan. The deadline for the submission of outline applications is 30 April 2012.

More info: http://rdpenetwork.defra.gov.uk/funding-sources/rural-economy-grant from where you can download an application form for the outline submission for grant.

Caffe Culture 2012

If you have a passion for good coffee then put this exhibition on your calendar now. Running from May 16-17th at Olympia, London, you will find the world of coffee under one roof, including RSS Hereford displaying our Italian bar counters and display cabinets on stand G33. If you’ve ever visited our showroom in Hereford and enjoyed the coffee we serve then visit www.ferrariscoffee.co.uk which is where we get our freshly roasted coffee beans from their head office in near Bridgend, South Wales. We’ve found that the Cinque Stella (Five Star) blend suits the many Italians who visit us the best but there are many other blends to choose from. RSS Hereford will be located next to them so why not tick two boxes on your shopping list when you visit the show. For more information see www.caffecultureshow.com

Increase your ice cream capacity – now!

If you failed to keep up with demand over the holiday period then do not fear – why not give us a call and see what stock we have available for Tekna Storage freezers and Techfrost Blast Freezers? Both manufacturers produce equipment especially with the Gelato (Ice cream) market in mind and can help you to increase your production capacity. Speed up the hardening process in a blast freezer prior to display in a cabinet or simply hold more ice cream in back up in a storage freezer if you can’t keep making ice cream all day. Call Laura on 01432 276777 or e-mail sales@rsshereford.co.uk for more information and prices.