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SMARTPARC

Game changer for food industry, as UK’s first SmartParc becomes reality powered by Inside Industry

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SMARTPARC

PROFILE

GAMECHANGER

for food industry

as UK’s first SmartParc becomes reality

SmartParc is a revolutionary high-tech food manufacturing and distribution Park that seeks to redefine the future of the UK food industry. Headed by CEO and TSL Ltd’s co-founder, Jackie Wild, SmartParc is the realisation of a long-held dream. It paves the way for the sector to ‘cluster and collaborate’ on sustainable production, to drive down operating costs, and to deliver an exciting range of benefits to tenants, employees, the local community and the environment. Profile by Andy Probert. 2

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nfectious and passionate, Jackie Wild is the living, breathing embodiment of SmartParc. She is a staunch advocate of the need for innovation and change in the UK’s food systems and supply chains. She is also determined to do something about these challenges, by creating an exciting new future for food businesses, which is more efficient, sustainable and successful. For her, SmartParc is the fulfilment of a long-held vision, based on many years of studying these problems, and brainstorming solutions. She and her team have drawn together the best elements of the industry’s supply chain, and fused them all together on one site. The concept of a centralised, high-tech food manufacturing and distribution hub emerged through Ms Wild’s more than 20 years’ experience of leading her global construction company, TSL Ltd. TSL is an international business that delivers turnkey capital projects for clients in food, pharmaceuticals, logistics, data centres, and high-tech manufacturing. The TSL team has successfully worked with many industry-leading names over the years – including Tesco, GSK, HelloFresh, and Greencore. Projects have ranged from feasibility studies, to design, and construction, to delivering process efficiencies (including AI, automation, and robotics). The business also has a strong track record in facilities maintenance and management as well as complete property development. The skills and experience acquired from these projects are now vividly being brought to life in the SmartParc project.

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SMARTPARC

PROFILE

Ian McIntyre

Matt O'Malley

Nigel Stevens

Addressing food industry pressures SmartParc is now fast coming into view – moving from blue-sky thinking to clear 2022 reality. Major food companies are beginning to queue up to lease units on the 155-acre site in Spondon, just outside Derby city centre. “The SmartParc team is passionate about bringing all the skills we have learned, to help the food industry transition from where it is now, to a more sustainable future,” said Ms Wild. “The SmartParc formula will help to solve many of the industry’s key challenges, including climate change, labour shortages and supply chain pressures. “SmartParc is the culmination of all our teams’ knowledge and experience. It’s a cluster site geared specifically towards the needs of food businesses. Buildings will be specifically designed for companies involved in food production. Occupiers will benefit from significant cost savings from shared energy, utilities, logistics and security services.” The former Celanese site, to the east of Derby city centre, was first identified as an ideal location for SmartParc in 2020. Outline planning permission was approved in June 8

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Jackie Wild

Michael Roberts

Kate Hancock

Paul Old

2021. The first building is due to be handed over in April 2022. The 2.3 million sqft park will provide food manufacturing facilities ranging from start-up incubation units to largescale manufacturing facilities. Buildings vary in size from 5,000 sqft, right up to 400,000 sqft. SmartParc will also be home to an exciting new Food Manufacturing Technology Centre of Excellence, supported by a £6.85 million grant from central government. The aim of this facility will be to encourage innovation and new ways of thinking in food production. The centre will act as a catalyst for growth for local food businesses. It will also offer education opportunities to encourage local people to pursue careers in food systems and supply chains. SEGRO plc, a major British property investment and development company, will become the landlord for SmartParc tenants. They will provide a multi-million-pound investment to regenerate the brownfield site. With additional grant funding totalling £12 million from the UK Government’s Getting Building Fund, the total investment on the SmartParc site is predicted to top £300 million.

Energy sharing, low-carbon park While SEGRO will effectively act as landlord and investment partner, SmartParc will provide a full range of onsite managed services. These are designed to support the food community to increase production efficiency and drive down costs through collaborative working. Ms Wild is keen to draw attention to SmartParc’s revolutionary energy-sharing infrastructure. This will utilise wind and solar power, combined with central services, to deliver the country’s most sustainable food production community. It will enable manufacturers to reduce the carbon impact of food production, at the same time as saving money. “SmartParc will be home to the first lowcarbon food manufacturing community in the UK. It offers a way for food businesses to collaborate to meet the challenges of sustainable production, reduce costs and address the need for efficient, direct routes to consumers.” With part of the CapEx already done, potential tenants will also benefit from the shared services model. “There will be solar panels on buildings, so we will be creating a smart energy Inside Industry

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SMARTPARC

PROFILE

sharing platform, that allows businesses to benefit from variations in supply and demand of power across SmartParc,” Ms Wild added. As part of a new forward-thinking blueprint for the food industry, the SmartParc ecosystem will look to harness new technologies, such as vertical farming and cellular agriculture. These innovations will minimise the impact of weather and other variables on producing sustainable food.

Boost to local economy SmartParc will create 5,000 direct jobs, and enable a new collaborative, flexible work model to fit in with people’s evolving lifestyles. The ambition is to make food production an attractive employment option for the local community in Derby. “We looked at all the issues a food company faces today, when thinking of moving into a new building. We think the SmartParc formula offers potential tenants everything they need to make their business a success,” Ms Wild detailed. A centralised distribution hub will allow tenants to consolidate the delivery of goods in and out of the park. This will streamline the supply chain, further reducing costs for occupiers, and improving sustainability by eliminating food miles. Ms Wild said: “It is our goal to build the world’s first true cluster site for food manufacturing and distribution. The creation of this dedicated asset class is pivotal in achieving a more sustainable future for food production, and giving a framework for the food industry to build upon. “It’s a real step-change for the food industry, setting up this new asset class. We are creating a business model where 14

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That opportunity has never existed before. It’s what the industry needs and it sets an example, which we believe will encourage the government to invest further.”

Exporting SmartParc model abroad

food companies can plug in to shared services, whilst also obtaining additional funding, that allows them to transition into these new spaces.” A ring of steel will be set up around SmartParc to ensure security, and there will also be shared maintenance, engineering, and hygiene services. “We are trying to address the challenges faced by the food industry collectively, by fostering a culture of collaboration. Another important element will be bringing in raw materials together, so we will create a centralised warehouse hub.” She added: “SmartParc is the starting point for change through collaboration.

According to Ms Wild, there is already significant interest in the SmartParc concept. UK manufacturers, retailers, vertical farming ventures, alternative protein companies and secondary producers are all in talks to locate at the new site. Ms Wild wants to replicate the SmartParc model at seven locations around the UK, clustering complementary food and drinks providers in each one. “We also have the ambition to scale around the world. There has been a lot of interest from abroad in delivering similar SmartParcs in other countries. “SmartParc creates a scalable blueprint for food production. We can export our skills and know-how in creating food production communities to other markets. It is an exciting proposition.” She added: “SEGRO has been an amazing partner and is hugely committed to SmartParc’s future success and to the food companies that will flourish here. Together we want to be a part of the stepchange the industry needs. SmartParc is key part of that transformation. “It’s taken a lot to get here, and it has been hard, as it requires a new way of working. To me, we’re only at base camp, but all the stars are aligning. We can now move forward with confidence and at pace, as SmartParc becomes home to the next food revolution.” n Inside Industry