We’re flavour of the month: Midland Fire are proud to protect Britain’s most loved crisps
What’s your flavour? At Midland Fire, we’d probably be flamin’ hot, and when Walkers approached Midland Fire for a fire alarm installation back in February, we were happy to show them what we’re made of.
Working in partnership with the Leicester branch of principal electrical contractor Summers-Inman, our team of fire alarm engineers installed a brand new fire alarm system for Walkers Snack Foods over the course of seven months. The project took place at their newly refurbished Leycroft Road Manufacturing Facility, one half of Walker’s Leicester-based plant – otherwise known as the world’s largest crisp factory.
Producing over 11 million bags of crisps per day and using about 800 tons of potatoes, the factory is a huge source of local employment, and protecting the site and all their employees is of the utmost importance to Walkers. To put their minds to rest from a fire safety point of view and ensure full compliance with the current BS5839 fire alarm system requirements, our team installed a top-spec fire alarm system at Line 4 of their site. The system includes an Advanced MxPro 5 control panel with Hochiki loop devices and a Drax 360 graphics PC front-end system.
“It was quite impressive working in such a vast and busy factory environment. Our team adapted well to the situation and installed a high functioning fire alarm system well within the allocated time frame. Our client was more than happy.”
Thomas Sleath, Business Development Manager, Midland Fire
Walkers Snack Foods
Walkers has been a household name in the UK since 1948 when the brand was founded in Leicester by Henry Walker. Best known for their potato crisps, sold in a variety of classic and more unusual flavours (remember onion bhaji?) Walkers has also gained traction in recent years with its bold marketing campaigns, most notably using Gary Lineker as their celebrity brand mascot.
The company now operates as part of PepsiCo, and has recently focused its attention on sustainability, working to reduce its environmental impact following protests attacking their crisp packets. Nonetheless, they’re still proud to be known as the producer of Britain’s most loved crisps, and their main factory sentimentally remains in Walkers’ founding city of Leicester. It was in this factory that our team set to work earlier this year.
Midland Fire Installing fire alarm systems at the Walkers factory
The project
During the refurbishment of their Leycroft Road factory (Line 4), Walkers needed their fire alarm system refurbished too. The install took place in the factory space, as well as in supporting plant and equipment areas, both adjacent and outdoors. Our fire alarm engineers conducted a thorough fire risk assessment of the site, before designing a system that best suited the space and the day-to-day work taking place there.
We chose and installed the following:
- Open protocol fire alarm system
- Advanced MxPro 5 control panels
- Hochiki loop devices
- Drax 360 graphical PC-based front-end enhancement
The site’s Drax 360 graphics package was updated to reflect recent changes to the factory building. We also provided additional VADs (Visual Alarm Devices) to meet the current BS5839 fire alarm system requirements. All devices were fully networked and integrated to one main fire alarm system within the factory.
The challenges
At the commissioning stage of this project, our team were working in a live factory environment where food (namely crisps) were being produced, so our team had to take care to respect both the staff at work there and the strict health and safety protocols in place at the site. We wore full coveralls and PPE and carefully planned our work to only take place when it was safe to do so.
Being a vast factory site with a complex layout, both indoors and out, our team planned and designed the install to best suit the space. Having extensive experience in similar workplaces, our team took everything in their stride and completed the installation with minimum disruption to the company’s operation.
Fire safety technology deep-dive
At Midland Fire, our engineers are always up to date with the latest products and innovations. This allows us to consistently deliver the highest standard of service to our clients and we install only the best in fire safety technology.
Here’s a brief overview of why we chose the following products for Walkers:
Fully addressable fire alarm system
An addressable fire alarm system is a system used commercially with advanced technology to pinpoint a fire’s exact location. Every device is inter-connected and continually communicating, allowing for faster response times.
Advanced MxPro 5 control panel
The MxPro 5 panel is a next-generation piece of fire technology offering premium versatility and design flexibility. Its processor is the most powerful yet for faster response times, its programming is intuitive, and it’s a sustainable choice too.
Hochiki loop devices
Manufactured by Hochiki, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of commercial fire detection solutions, these devices are the epitome of high-integrity and long-term reliability. They’re also extremely cost-effective, consuming very low levels of electrical current.
Drax 360 front-end graphics
Drax 360 is a computer system that displays live information in easy-to-understand graphics, helping the client monitor and control their fire system. It simplifies complex data, showing graphical representations of events including fire signals for quicker real-time responses.
Visual alarm devices
VADs are an essential part of all fire alarm systems, and the UK regulations mean that a certain number need to be present at every site. They provide a visual indicator of an emergency for people who aren’t able to rely on audible alarms.
Looking for commercial fire alarm installation in Leicester?
We provide fire risk assessment and life safety solutions in Leicester as well as the surrounding cities, towns and villages across the Midlands.
At Midland Fire, we’ll work with you to plan and deliver the optimum life safety solution for your premises, including ongoing commercial fire alarm maintenance, support, and fire safety training. At Midland Fire WE PROTECT.
For more information and a free consultation contact Midland Fire Security Services Ltd.
