Many people enjoy conserves and marmalades from the historic Tiptree farm, and now, thanks to a little help from Chalcroft Construction, the running of the production facilities has got a little easier.

The Essex farm has been run by the Wilkin family for around 300 years, first producing conserves under the now world-famous Wilkin & Sons’ Tiptree name in the mid-1880s.

As part of a planned consolidation of the business, Wilkin & Sons asked food industry specialists Chalcroft to construct a new cold storage facility at the site to store produce from the nearby farm ensuring that the fruit is kept as fresh as possible.

The development, which features a steel framework and white-wall insulated panels, also means that the storage of fruit will be consolidated onto one site, without the need to contract out cold storage requirements.

Ian Thurgood, joint managing director of Wilkin & Sons, commented: “The decision to unite processes on one site will benefit both the business and our customers. We are grateful that in Chalcroft we chose a construction company we could work in partnership with and one that fully understands the requirements of the food sector.”

Ed Getley, from Chalcroft commented: “We have been delighted to have been able to use our industry knowledge and experience to support the next phase in the history of this historic conserves factory.”