The impressive QK Cold Store facility stands proudly just north of Grantham, Lincolnshire and has done so for 35 years. Their 100-strong team and storage capacity of 28,000 pallet locations provide blast freezing, defrosting and storage capabilities to the food industry.
As Covid-19 news hit companies across the region, QK, like many others, were worried and anxious about what the next few months would look like for them. Suzanne Dawson, Financial Controller, admitted, “We were just not geared up for home working, we weren’t that type of business!” As they prioritised their needs, it became clear that their relationship with their IT support provider, Datcom, and their fully managed IT services, were critical in ensuring the future of the business.
“We leaned on Datcom constantly to guide us through developing IT requirements to meet our additional needs during lockdown, which meant we could focus on the things we were expert in”, Suzanne explained.
Desktop computers had previously been standard at QK, but now they purchased multiple laptops that were set up in 24 hours by the Datcom team. Newly remote workers were up and running quickly, with minimal down time. QK’s own team worked tirelessly to make their work environment as safe as possible, including hiring portaloos, additional canteen space, even unscrewing chairs from the canteen tables to provide social distancing, along with setting up work bubbles and converting other space on site into new offices. Lateral flow testing became something of a norm every week, with everyone embracing the team effort and drive to keep the business going and their colleagues safe and well.
Suzanne admitted, “We didn’t have time to take a breath and just had to think on the hoof. We know we’ve been lucky in many ways that we still have the business, but it has been extremely hard work. Our Account Manager, Andy Maddison, and the rest of the Datcom team have been there for us, every step of the way”.
Fully managed IT with Datcom and QK Cold Stores continue to work in harmony with each other, as the world no doubt changes a few more times.