Probat equips Costa's new Basildon roastery

Probat, the world`s leading manufacturer of plants and machinery for the coffee industry, delivers a complete turnkey roasting plant for Costa`s new roasting facility in Basildon, Essex.

In close co-operation with Costa´s experts, engineers at Germany based Probat developed an individual plant design according to the exact requirements of the customer. The vast range of equipment supplied by the German manufacturer comprises three Neptune drum roasters with a total capacity of 9 tonnes per hour, a green coffee reception, green and roasted coffee silos as well as the complete plant infrastructure including the Pilot Plant control system. The tight timeline proved to be a particular kind of challenge as the complete plant had to be built and put into operation within only six months.

Wim Abbing, CEO Probat: "`The new roastery is an important milestone in the long-time partnership between Probat and Costa. Probat stands for needs-oriented solutions and honest advice. We are taking particular pride in having accomplished this comprehensive turnkey project up to the high standards our customer set in terms of quality, flexibility and efficiency."

Giorgio Fioravanti, Production Director at Costa: "Probat provided us with a tailor-made sustainable solution for our new coffee processing plant in Basildon. To be able to roast the coffee to the same great quality and flavour our customers are used to and to meet our growing global demand, it was vital to have a reliable partner like Probat."

Guido Meyer, project manager Probat: "The very close collaboration between the project management teams on both sides was crucial for bringing the roastery project to a successful conclusion. Only the great team spirit that developed between all parties involved made possible what has been a truly exciting challenge right from the start."

Gennaro Pelliccia, Master of Coffee Costa: "It’s taken me years to perfect the skills of tasting coffee. Your ability to smell and taste different aromas has to be very precise. Probat roasting machines enable us to use lower temperatures and slow roast to seal in the coffee`s oils and aroma, thus supporting us in delivering the taste experience our customers expect."

Find out more about Probat`s turnkey solutions and visit us at www.probat.com

About Costa and the roastery

Costa is the UK’s favourite coffee shop, having been awarded "Best Branded Coffee Shop Chain in the UK and Ireland" by Allegra Strategies for seven years running (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 & December 2016). With over 2,000 coffee shops in the UK and more than 1,280 in 30 overseas markets, Costa is the fastest growing coffee shop business in the UK. Founded in London by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa in 1971, Costa has become the UK’s favourite coffee shop chain and diversified into both the at-home and gourmet self-serve markets. The Roastery is located on Christopher Martin Road in Basildon, but has been given the honorary title of ‘the Paradise Street Roastery’ as a nod to Costa’s original roastery on Old Paradise Street, in Lambeth. The £38m new facility has more than quadrupled Costa’s roasting capacity from 11,000 tonnes of coffee per annum to 45,000 tonnes per annum, providing the platform for its national and global growth plans. The design brief for the new roastery was to focus on quality and sustainability, ensuring that Costa’s high quality coffee standards were met but with the minimal environmental footprint, as Whitbread, Costa’s parent company, is targeting to reduce emissions by 15 per cent from its 2014/15 baseline by 2020. To read more about the roastery, please visit Costa.co.uk