Our Fresh Eyes Evaluation is a comprehensive assessment process designed to provide an objective and impartial review of your business operations.
The Fresh Eyes Evaluation is an opportunity for our team to bring a fresh perspective, unburdened by preconceptions or biases, to evaluate your current strategies, processes, and operations. With over 800+ years of combined industry experience, we deliver actionable recommendations tailored to your specific needs and strategic goals.
We don’t stop at recommendations. We believe in hands-on collaboration, working closely with your team to implement proposed changes. Our team combines Engineering and Process expertise with Project Management to drive the transformation process, ensuring seamless integration and minimal disruption to your daily operations.
Our Fresh Eyes Evaluations are not limited to a specific sector. We have cross-sector skills and transferable knowledge, enabling us to address challenges such as capacity constraints, lengthy processes, outdated equipment, and congested layouts across the industry.
Our evaluations have supported manufacturers in various aspects of production…
The Fresh Eyes Evaluation offers more than just insights. It’s a pathway to tangible improvements and sustainable growth for your business. Let us partner with you to unlock your full manufacturing potential.
To find out more and begin your Fresh Eyes Evaluation, click here.
At Protolan, we pride ourselves on delivering successful projects through collaboration and a deep understanding of our clients’ needs. We are proud to share a testimonial from one of our valued clients, highlighting their positive experience working with Protolan on a recent project. Their feedback showcases our commitment to partnership, thoroughness, responsiveness, and professionalism.
“Having worked with Protolan on previous projects, we had no hesitation engaging them to collaborate with us on a new project in challenging times. Protolan worked with us in complete partnership, ensuring they understood the scope of our requirements and the challenges involved. Thorough, responsive, and professional, Protolan ultimately brought our project to a successful conclusion. We would have no reservation in recommending Protolan.”
Confidence in Delivery
This testimonial highlights the trust and confidence our clients have in partnering with Protolan. Our established relationships and successful track record create a foundation of trust that allows us to embark on new projects together. We believe in true collaboration and partnership, taking the time to understand our clients’ needs, challenges, and goals. This approach enables us to provide tailored solutions and deliver projects that exceed expectations.
Understanding Your Requirements
Protolan’s commitment to understanding our clients’ requirements is essential to project success. We prioritise clear communication and thorough comprehension of our clients’ objectives. By working closely with them, we gain deep insights into their unique needs, enabling us to develop comprehensive project plans that address specific challenges. Our responsive and proactive approach ensures our clients feel heard, supported, and confident in our ability to deliver.
Navigating Challenges
Projects often present obstacles, particularly in challenging times. Protolan’s ability to navigate these challenges is a testament to our expertise and problem-solving skills. Our experienced team excels in complex environments, finding innovative solutions to overcome hurdles. By leveraging our industry knowledge and resourcefulness, we guide our clients through project intricacies, helping them achieve their desired outcomes.
We are grateful for our clients’ trust and recommendation, and we remain dedicated to delivering excellence, providing innovative solutions, and partnering with our clients to achieve their goals. If you are searching for a reliable and responsive project management partner, experience the Protolan difference.
Ready to embark on your next project with us? Contact Protolan today and let’s begin our journey toward success together.
In today’s rapidly evolving food industry, we understand the importance of being flexible and adaptable to meet changing consumer demands. At Protolan, we advocate for agile manufacturing principles that enable companies to respond quickly and efficiently to shifting market trends.
We recognise that traditional rigid manufacturing approaches may hinder a company’s ability to adapt effectively. That’s why we emphasise the adoption of agile methodologies that prioritise flexibility, responsiveness, and continuous improvement. By embracing agile manufacturing, food manufacturers can adjust production processes, introduce new product SKUs, and optimise resource allocation to meet evolving consumer preferences.
Adaptive Manufacturing
Our approach involves the use of scalable production lines that can be easily reconfigured and expanded. This allows our clients to swiftly introduce new product lines, modify existing ones, or increase production to meet growing demand. With flexible production lines, we enable manufacturers to optimise their capabilities without significant downtime or costly facility modifications.
Automation and Robotics
We assist our clients in identifying and implementing the latest technologies that enhance production efficiency and adaptability. Automated systems can be programmed to accommodate different product specifications, batch sizes, and packaging requirements, ensuring seamless transitions between product variations, and minimising changeover time.
Data-driven Decision Making
By implementing robust data collection and analysis systems, manufacturers gain valuable insights into consumer trends, market demands, and production performance. This enables informed decisions regarding product development, production planning, and inventory management, facilitating swift responses to changing consumer demands.
Collaboration and Integration
We work closely with our clients to foster strong relationships with suppliers, enabling seamless communication, efficient inventory management, and just-in-time delivery. By aligning supply chain processes with manufacturing requirements, companies can optimise production schedules, minimise lead times, and adapt quickly to consumer demands.
Our strategies for flexible manufacturing empower food companies to navigate these challenges with confidence. By embracing agile manufacturing principles, we enable our clients to meet the ever-changing needs of consumers. With our expertise and innovative approach, food manufacturers can achieve long-term growth in an increasingly competitive industry.
Our Achievements, Milestones, and Future Ambitions
Protolan has actively expanded its presence in the United States over the past six months, demonstrating our dedication to growth. Since our establishment in 2010, we have successfully built a strong portfolio of projects in the food and beverage sectors across the country.
Our track record includes over 30 projects, ranging from feasibility studies to the implementation and commissioning of new facilities, as well as the redevelopment of existing ones. Through these endeavours, we have not only improved processes and increased capacity but also set the stage for the future success of our esteemed clients.
Driving this growth is our newly appointed US Associate Director, Nate McCann, who joined our team in January. Since his arrival, we have achieved significant milestones, including the establishment of a new office in Irvine, California. Currently, we are actively working on projects spanning various sectors within multiple states across the US, with projects in Texas, Oregon, Georgia, and New Jersey. Our focus lies on strengthening existing client relationships and cultivating new ones. Our current project portfolio encompasses ready meals, produce, salsas, and dips, where we are covering the entirety of the project lifecycle including feasibilities, conceptual and detailed design, and governance and implementation to enhance food manufacturing facilities.
US Vice President of Protolan, Nate McCann
Nate brings with him a wealth of experience in the food and beverage industry, having spent over 22 years managing projects. His expertise lies in delivering processing plants that adhere to the highest food manufacturing standards. Nate’s appointment marks the second addition of an overseas senior leader to the Protolan team, underscoring our unwavering commitment to growth. Looking ahead, Nate aims to expand our US-based team to provide even greater support and meet the high expectations of our clients. This expansion is crucial to realising our ambitious plans throughout the US. Additionally, we continue to cultivate strong relationships with suppliers while venturing into new sectors and states, broadening our portfolio and expertise. By keeping abreast of the latest processes and technologies, we aim to become industry pioneers in the food and beverage sector across the US.
Nate expressed his excitement about growing Protolan throughout the US, stating…
“Since coming on board with Protolan in January, the last six months journey has been outstanding. The team, foundation, and pillars already in place have created a solid base to work from. Working alongside the existing team and principles will enable expanding the US business an easier and accelerated task. We have already secured new projects during the first half of 2023 with many more opportunities on the horizon for the second half of the year which will fuel the requirement to expand the US business. It has been reassuring to see our client’s continued growth and investments within their businesses despite the uncertainty with the global economy and supply chain issues”.
This growth we are experiencing is rooted in our core Protolan values of trust, communication, and collaboration, which ensure our unwavering commitment to achieving our clients’ objectives.
At Protolan, we offer strategic project management, engineering, process, and capacity modelling expertise to deliver comprehensive solutions for our diverse and unique clients. Our services address various challenges, including equipment, packaging, process, building, and engineering aspects of multi-faceted capital projects dedicated to the food and beverage manufacturing industries.
Prepare to be thrilled as the highly-anticipated Food Management Today Awards draw near. This annual event serves as a fantastic opportunity for dedicated food industry professionals to come together, celebrate their hard work, and make valuable connections.
Taking place at London’s prestigious 5-star Royal Lancaster Hotel on Tuesday, June 6th, the awards night promises an unforgettable experience. We are proud supporters of this event and will be there to cheer on the deserving winners.
At the awards, we are honoured to sponsor the Best New Product Development category. Our Project Engineering Manager, Simon Woodhouse, will present the award to the team that has gone above and beyond in bringing an innovative and daring product to the UK market. This aligns with our vision of driving Manufacturing Excellence and delivering effective solutions to our clients’ challenges, all while meeting their commercial objectives.
Simon shares his thoughts, saying…
“Introducing a fresh product to the market is no small feat. It’s an exciting challenge that keeps us on our toes. By sponsoring the Best New Product Development award, we want to shine a spotlight on our dedication to innovation and creativity within our industry!”‘
To learn more about the Food Management Today Awards and the exciting nominees, click here.
Protolan are pleased to appoint Zbyszek Mirota as Associate Director of operations in Central Eastern Europe (CEE).
Working internationally since our launch in 2011, we have successfully completed a portfolio of over 300 projects, reaching a wide range of sectors across the food and drink industry.
This expansion is a natural next step for Protolan. With a vision to expand and support food manufacturers facing current challenges throughout this territory, Protolan will work in partnership to deliver core services from developing methods to help reduce costs, managing risks and open new opportunities for further growth.
Zbyszek will be at the forefront of our operations across Central Eastern Europe, forming strong partnerships and driving innovation. He said…
“It is great privilege to join the Protolan team and I look forward to developing the professional services dedicated for the food and beverage industry within the Central Europe region”.
Zbyszek is a highly effective leader with extensive project management and engineering knowledge across the food and beverage industry. With over 15 years of experience, he is dedicated to forming strong client relationships through utilising his technical due diligence proficiencies to deliver complex projects from automation to production processes across the manufacturing supply chain.
Director of Protolan, Richard Whittle said…
“We’re looking forward to meeting new clients and driving further growth, innovation and efficiency across a rapidly developing and changing market.”
Launching into Central Eastern Europe has been an ambition that, with the support and driving determination of Zbyszek, we are proud to now realise.
After 11 years of continued growth, Protolan is proud to announce its expansion of Project Management and Engineering services into Central Eastern Europe.
Since launching in 2010, Protolan has supported a diverse range of clients across the food and drink manufacturing industry.
We are proud of our project success during the last 11 years. Starting out as a team of four with a keen ambition for growth, we recognise the importance of sharing best practices to secure the future of the food and drink industry.
With a portfolio of over 300 projects completed successfully, reaching a wide range of industry sectors, Protolan is in the right place to formally expand its services onto the international stage. Launching into Central Eastern Europe has been an ambition that we are proud to now realise.
Director of Protolan, Richard Whittle said…
“We have operated internationally since launching in 2010, and one of the key areas in which we have seen growth and similar emerging trends is Poland and the wider CEE region. Whilst initially this was working with existing clients from the UK, as our projects and clients have increased in this area it has become a natural next step to put additional focus here to establish a more local presence dedicated to this market.”
The CEE region hosts a widely developed network of food manufacturers with a long-term tradition of food processing. Utilising our ability gained through shared experiences, our vision is to expand and support food manufacturers facing current challenges throughout this territory by working in partnership to deliver our services from developing methods to help reduce costs to managing risks and open new opportunities for further growth.
Richard concluded by saying…
“We’re looking forward to meeting new clients and driving further growth, innovation and efficiency across a rapidly developing and changing market.”
Protolan are extremely excited to begin this next chapter and would like to thank the continued support of its clients, old and new, who have made this possible.
Project Engineering Manager and alumni of The University of Nottingham, Tyler Simmonite took on the role of a guest judge for the Year 3 Design Showcase for the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering.
Tyler Simmonite said…
“It was great to be back at university and speak to the students about their design projects at the showcase event. A lot has happened in the 4 years since I did it myself, with the pandemic that disrupted this cohort in their first year of university. Despite that, it was amazing to see the same hard work from the students, and the teamwork and camaraderie that comes from the challenges faced in a Chem Eng project. Congratulations to all the students and best of luck for the next step with placements and masters. I look forward to seeing what they all go onto next”.
Tyler helped select the award for Environmental and Sustainability, alongside a Process Safety award, these projects represent many hours of hard work and dedication over the academic year, congratulations to the award winners!
Protolan works closely with the university offering students Easter internships, summer placements, and year placements designed to give them the opportunity to learn more about the food and drink industry and develop skills to carry them to the next stage of their careers.
Protolan work in partnership with the ready meals sector delivering manufacturing excellence, every day.
Worth nearly £4 million in the UK alone, the ready meal industry is huge! They are an affordable and accessible way for many to enjoy a hot meal, however, with current trends of home-working and restrictions, the sector is seeing a decline – we are shopping locally and cooking from scratch relying less on convenience foods. Ready Meal manufacturers need to adapt and innovate to meet these challenges, utilising new processes and technologies.
Since launching in 2010, Protolan has completed over 80 projects in this sector alone, working alongside both the large blue-chip manufacturers and growing craft producers alike, from concept through to implementation and commissioning.
Our portfolio alongside our worldwide partnerships is growing with many successful projects completed in the USA and many parts of Europe and Central Eastern Europe.
Comprising of Food Industry Professionals and Specialists, we are committed to the delivery of comprehensive projects on behalf of our clients by providing core services designed to solve day-to-day challenges across all areas of the ready meals sector. We see our approach to working with client relationships as different and refreshing. We strive to engage with our clients in a spirit of trust, candid communication, and transparency, constantly seeking innovative ways to deliver our services by developing methods to help you reduce costs, manage risks and open up new opportunities to grow your business.
We are always ready to deliver, in the ready meals sector.
Read what our past clients have to say…
Protolan shows a great understanding of the food industry. They have the leadership, food expertise, and project management skills to understand our challenges and familiarise themselves with our business objectives. Their concise communication provided us with a clear view of the issues and challenges of the project, providing us with a tangible project plan and a successful scheme.
– Sally Mitchell, Saladworks
The Protolan team has been an important part of the success of our recent, complex projects. They are a dedicated partner who is responsive, client-conscious, and own a wealth of food manufacturing knowledge. Protolan’s project team worked closely with our internal team to deliver a multifaceted project, providing innovative solutions to ensure best practices across the factory. They show great diligence and flexibility when faced with project challenges. I look forward to a continued relationship with Richard and his team and would not hesitate to recommend them.
– Gary McEvoy, Bakkavor Texas
Click here to find out more and talk to us today to achieve your Food Manufacturing Excellence.
Sources & Further Reading…
The Grocer (2020) The break-up: ready meals category report 2020 – Online: Read
“Engineering roles should open up to all trainees” – Richard Whittle, Protolan director, and MDS board member recently shared his views in an article for The Grocer, the UK’s leading weekly magazine covering the whole FMCG sector. If you missed it, continue below to read the full article.
Innovation, technology, and sustainability are at the heart of our 21st-century fresh food businesses, and we need to capitalise on the motivated, digital-savvy, and eco-aware generation coming into the workplace to drive it forward.
Whilst there may only be a small proportion of engineers coming into the Management Development Services graduate training programme [for fresh produce companies], there is still plenty of opportunity to integrate MDS trainees into engineering roles, and there is much to be gained from bringing in a fresh perspective. After all, we put non-marketers into marketing departments to learn on and from the job.
Since we took our first MDS trainee in 2014, we’ve had a mix of engineering and non-engineering graduates – both of which have been assets to us.
While an engineering degree helps and graduates in this discipline have the skills and understanding to take on projects quickly, ultimately engineering is about creating solutions. It takes an analytical approach, attention to detail, and lateral thinking – skills many MDS trainees boast.
One of our most recent trainees, Ivan Erviti, has a food engineering degree completed in his native Argentina, and by the time he’s fulfilled four secondments in different disciplines, he will have a much greater understanding of how engineering fits into the wider industry. His management training will be a distinct advantage that will elevate him into senior roles in the business. In my experience, engineers are largely under-represented at CEO and COO level in the fresh produce industry, and having engineering intelligence at management level also benefits businesses as they innovate and progress.
As businesses in the sector, on the one hand, we have a role to challenge young people’s perceptions and champion the exciting opportunities in food and fresh produce. On the other, we need to include trainees from all disciplines in our engineering and technology teams, bringing fresh viewpoints to these roles.
We should not be working in ‘discipline’ silos. If the mindset is engineering can only be done by engineers, it doesn’t drive innovation and awareness of change across the industry. The whole food industry ultimately loses from that.
*MDS is a partnership of companies that aims to equip young people with the experience, training, and mindset so that they have the confidence and ability to rapidly become senior business leaders within the food industry. You can read more about MDS here.
Protolan is constantly looking for the next generation of talent to keep Protolan at its best. We want people with fresh ideas, Project Managers and Project Engineers, who ultimately want a career in the food and drink industry. Contact usif you would like to discuss a career in Food and Drink manufacturing.
