Building has been complete on a new distribution centre for R D Johns in Devon, with the brand new £10.5m cold store and freezer facility seeing the company headquarters relocate to premises covering more than 3,700sq m.
Coldstore and composite panel specialist ISD Solutions compelted the building work for the company that has been based at a depot in Newton Abbot five miles away.
Originally a family butchers, the company has recently grown very rapidly – particularly during the pandemic – with turnover rising from £5m in 2019 to around £42m last year. Andrew Johns, owner of the company, is now targeting growth to £200m turnover by 2026.
Darren Willcox, sales manager of ISD Solutions said: “We have had a productive and trusted relationship with R D Johns ever since Andrew Johns took over the company in 1997.
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“I actually joined the company that year and the R D Johns site in Milber was the first project I did – back then it was a significant piece of work for us, although this is a much larger scheme and a very different situation.
“Of course, we’re delighted to support Andrew and be there as part of the journey of his company. Our relationship is the ideal scenario, with mutual trust between partners for ongoing projects. Personally and as a company, we’re looking forward to our future relationship as R D Johns continues to grow.”
Andrews Johns added: “We’ve massively outgrown our existing premises at Newton Abbot, where we’ve been since 1997. When we started we were mainly butchers, but since 2000 we’ve evolved into foodservice, which is where most of our growth has stemmed from. That’s a very competitive area and it’s taken a long time to take the fight to our competition effectively, given their protectiveness over supplier relationships. That’s been a big challenge but we’ve met it head on and we’re now in a good place. However, our previous premises are no longer fit for purpose.
“With our other depot in Bath, this move allows us to grow, not just in terms of capacity but also allowing expansion with key operational and business development functions – marketing, procurement, distribution, sales and so on – under one roof. This new facility will be our head office and the brains of the whole operation.”
