| Client: | Fortune Fish & Gourmet |
| Industry: | Seafood |
| Services: | Fresh and Frozen Seafood and Specialty Food Distributor |
| Location: | Illinois |
The Client
In 2001, Sean O’Scannlain founded Fortune Fish & Gourmet. He named the company after his ancestor Peter Fortune, who himself had founded the Chicago-based Fortune Brothers Brewing Company in 1866. O’Scannlain brought many years of seafood industry experience – at the now-defunct Chicago Fish House and then at the Plitt Company – to the table, and had a vision to become the Midwest’s leading fresh and frozen seafood and specialty food distributor.
It didn’t take long for his vision to become a reality. Since 2001, Fortune Fish & Gourmet has experienced rapid expansion and today services top restaurants, hotels, country clubs and grocers across America from its state of the art, 110,000 square foot HQ in Bensenville IL, and several other locations including DeForest, Wisconsin, Kansas City & St Louis in Missouri, Minneapolis, Minnesota and at the heart of the shrimp industry in Bayou La Batre, Alabama.
Of course, when such a prestigious customer asked us to custom build a stainless steel table that would integrate seamlessly into their production line at their Bensenville HQ, we jumped at the chance!
The Challenge
Fortune Fish & Gourmet required a table similar to one that they were already using at their factory – but with some specific adjustments. Schaumburg’s Rob and Truan visited the company’s Bensenville premises (only a 15 minute drive from Schaumburg HQ!) and spoke with the team there about what was required.
The challenge was to replicate the table that was already in use, but the table we built had to be easily maneuverable so it could quickly and easily get to where it was required on the production floor (the existing table was not easily movable).
Fortune wanted the table to be a specific height (26.5in) so that its employees didn’t have to lift boxes of product too far off the floor (and incur risk of injuries) and a specific width (30in) so it could fit between their guard rails.
The company also required a second shelf underneath the table for storage purposes and wanted the second currently removable bar above the table (that held brown paper wrap for fish produce) to be made non-movable because it was never used by its employees. In addition, Fortune needed the table as quickly as possible, because it was experiencing a certain amount of backlog in its production schedule from its rapidly expanding operations.
Rob and Truan viewed the existing table and took measurements for the new custom build.
Rob and Truan got all the information about the table’s dimensions that we needed and back at Schaumburg HQ, our talented design engineers quickly busied themselves with the drawings for the custom build.
Our Solution
Our expert design and manufacturing team came up with the perfect tailor made table for our client, which was 72in long, 26.5in high and 30in wide.
To ensure productivity was escalated, we knew it was important that the surface of the table was as clear as possible, so we suggested that the scale used to weigh the boxes of produce was recessed and built flush with the table.
The scale was built recessed
We also designed a separate slot for the scales reader so it no longer had to sit on the tabletop, freeing up even more work space. Fortune’s team loved these ideas and signed them off straightaway.
The scales reader had a separate slot
The first bar above the table that held the brown paper wrap was built to be easy to lift up, remove and replace – allowing Fortune’s employees to quickly and efficiently replenish rolls of wrap once they’d been used.
Removable bar
The second bar, which the client had said wasn’t needed, we made immovable and simply welded the structure together, to help the table maintain stability and form, an essential requirement when a table storing fresh and frozen food products is being moved around a production floor. We also added the second level underneath the table that the client required for storage purposes.
The welded second bar and storage shelf
Another essential requirement for easy maneuverability was high quality casters, so we ensured that the table was fitted with wheels that would make it smoothly mobile and able to withstand freezing temperatures and heavy use.
Top quality casters
Once the table was ready – exactly three weeks since Rob and Truan had visited Fortune Fish’s HQ – we dispatched it to Bensenville, where it was instantly put to work on the company’s busy production line.
The final table
We soon heard from Fortune Fish that the table was really helping to increase its productivity and that its employees were delighted with it!
Another day, another happy customer for Schaumburg Specialties!
Bring Your Custom Build Ideas To Life With Schaumburg Specialties!
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