The Project

PBC was appointed by Prologis to project manage the development of a new, 85,000 sq.ft. high bay roasting facility for Costa Coffee.  The new Essex-based roastery was designed to service Costa’s UK and overseas markets, and represented a £38 million investment by the company.

PBC Scope

PBC worked with Costa and the full design and delivery teams to successfully hand over the project.  Challenges included implementing change control procedures for agreeing amendments to specifications with all parties, and also allowing early access to Costa for its fitting out works.  All equipment installations were managed by Costa in conjunction with Morgan Lovell, who designed and constructed their office fit-out works.

After twelve months of construction the new facility opened, and is now one of the largest coffee roasteries in Europe, capable of producing 45,000 tonnes of coffee a year – four times more than the company’s previous facility in Lambeth.

The plant is also highly sustainable and has been shortlisted for the 2017 BREEAM Awards.  It achieved an ‘Outstanding’ rating at the design stage for its installation of solar PV roof panels that are capable of producing nearly 250,000 KWH of energy, and for its rainwater harvesting and solar thermal technology system for heating water.  The location of the roastery also helps to reduce its carbon footprint.  Sited just 14 miles from Tilbury Docks, where the beans are unloaded, the journey takes half the time it used to take to the old facility in Lambeth.

Now completed, the roastery is aiming to receive a further ‘Outstanding’ certification at the final stage of assessment.