Eurilait, one of the UK’s leading distributors of quality specialty cheeses and dairy products, is the UK subsidiary of two large French dairy co-operatives, Laita and Eurial.

Located within the rural village of Evercreech in the heart of Somerset, Eurilait operates a 44,000sq ft cutting, packing and distribution facility supplying retail, wholesale and food manufacturing markets throughout the UK and Ireland with cheese, butter, cream and crème fraiche.

Most of the produce comes from the twenty dairies owned by Laita and Eurial in France, together with a vast array of specialty cheeses sourced from various locations throughout Europe.

Eurilait’s strength is in its comprehensive range of quality products, along with its ability to meet individual customer requirements, which in turn has led to year on year growth since 2001.  As a result, major refurbishment work was needed at the Evercreech facility.  It was here that the expertise of Total Interiors was called upon.

Looking to maintain their already high levels of customer service, Eurilait identified the need to create additional space for the Cutting and Packing areas, together with the need to provide a safe and pleasant working environment for the growing number or permanent and temporary staff, according to Eurilait Managing Director Howard Newmarch.

After deciding against a new build in favour of refurbishment, we invited two companies to quote” commented Mr Newmarch.  “One was a local building contractor and the other, following a recommendation from an industry contact, was Total Interiors; and it was Total Interiors who from the very start instilled confidence in the Eurilait team with a comprehensive offering based on their vast experience.  What we needed was a company to guide us through the whole process and work with us to ensure that the normal day-to-day running of the operation continued without affecting our customers.

To create the additional space for the Cutting and Packing areas, a large section of pallet racking in the main warehouse was to be taken down and replaced with a 400 sq m mezzanine floor.  Totally enclosed with new white walling and flooring, the ground floor would consist of a “High Care Section”, complete with state of the art changing area for the safe and hygienic handling of the exposed foods and a “Low Care Section” for the Packing area.  A canteen, a large staff room and new toilets were also to be created on the mezzanine floor.

From conception to completion, the whole refurbishment program was project managed by the Total Interiors CDM (Construction Design and Management) Coordinator, working closely with sub contractors who are personally appointed by Total Interiors and audited on a regular basis.  With weekly meetings and work planned two weeks in advance, all parties were aware of the work schedule which meant that any changes to the plan, to ensure that the Eurilait business continued to run smoothly, could be agreed and managed well in advance.

With 40% of the companies annual turnover coming in the 3 months running up to Christmas, Eurilait take on an extra 100 people during that period and that had to be taken into consideration when it came to calculating and planning the drainage, toilets and canteen requirements.  As Eurilait share the site with a number of other large companies, any work on the drainage system or services needed to be planned well in advance and completed on time.  This was also the case with the integrated Fire Alarm system.

Working closely together, a “three-stage hand over” was planned which enabled Eurilait to have beneficial use of key work areas well before the actual project was complete.

Eurilait now have a cutting, packing and distribution facility to cope with the growing demand for both the products and the daily needs of the staff, and according to Mr Newmarch, the whole refurbishment program has been a huge success.

We appointed Total Interiors because of their expertise in large refurbishment projects such as ours,” added Mr Newmarch “and we have been delighted with the outcome.  The job was on time and to budget and with the regular meetings we have been involved throughout the whole process.  Their experience with similar projects meant that they knew what to expect and totally understood the importance of getting things done without ever over promising; and they were nice people to work with.