Birmingham-based Island Delight manufacturer Cleone Foods replaced its ageing horizontal steam boiler with two compact VSRT steam boilers from Fulton, unlocking energy savings, operational redundancy and the capacity for a third production shift, all installed over a single weekend with zero disruption to output. The switch is projected to deliver an estimated annual carbon saving of over 46 tonnes of CO2e and an estimated annual energy saving of nearly 205,000 kWh.
Cleone Foods, the family-run Birmingham manufacturer behind the Island Delight brand of Jamaican patties, produces its snacks on a single production line supplying major UK supermarkets.
The business had relied on a single horizontal Fulton RBC 1000 steam boiler, originally specified to run both of its jacketed cooking vessels simultaneously at full output. In practice, the two vessels were never run together, leaving the boiler oversized for actual demand. "It wasn’t the most economical to run and getting on in its lifespan." said Simon Noble, Facilities Manager at Cleone Foods.
As a price-sensitive supplier to major supermarkets, Cleone Foods needed a way to cut fuel costs and reduce operational risk without compromising the reliability of its cooking process. "It's very difficult for us to increase our output prices with our input price going up all the while, so we're always looking for efficiency savings and cost savings."
Matching Two Compact VSRT Boilers to Actual Demand
Cleone Foods worked with long-standing partner Fulton, its steam boiler supplier since 2008, to replace the single RBC 1000 with two Fulton VSRT-30 vertical tubeless boilers, sized to match real usage rather than theoretical peak demand.
Fitting two VSRTs into the same footprint as the old horizontal boiler delivered redundancy that the original single-boiler setup could not offer. The switch also doubled system turndown from 6:1 to 12:1 and reduced the minimum firing rate by 65%, enabling better-matched steam production under low load conditions, while cutting comparative NOx emissions by 70%, from 143mg/Nm³@3%O2 to 40mg/Nm³@3%O2.
"It wasn’t just about saving money on the gas bill. In the same footprint as the original horizontal boiler, we could install two VSRT steam boilers, which would save on downtime, servicing costs, five-yearly NDT inspections, redundancy and a host of additional benefits." said Simon.
Fulton supported the project from initial planning through to steam monitoring, contractor sourcing and commissioning, and recommended specialist McQuillan Boiler Services to build a bespoke plant room off-site. This approach allowed the entire changeover, including crane lifts, pipework reconnection and boiler commissioning, to be completed over a single weekend.
Commenting for MBS, director Andrew McQuillan said: "When Fulton brought us in to evaluate the installation element of the project, the challenge was clear: limited space and zero tolerance for downtime. Using 3D laser point-cloud technology, our team scanned the existing footprint and pipework to design a bespoke, off-site modular plant room that retrofitted precisely into the available space. That level of precision allowed us to replace the entire boiler house in a single day, leaving Fulton to commission the plant on the Sunday. Fulton and Cleone Foods were a pleasure to collaborate with; that kind of close teamwork is what turns a complex, tight-turnaround build into a successful project."
The project was supported by a grant secured following an independent energy assessment by Aston University's Business Energy Advice Service (BEAS), which identified the potential for significant reductions in gas consumption and carbon emissions.
"The biggest impact of the project, in a way, was that there was no impact! We were cooking on Friday using the old horizontal boiler and we were cooking on Monday on the new VSRTs. The planning enabled us to carry on working, no downtime, no issues, no problems." said Simon Noble.
Lower Running Costs, Simplified Maintenance and Room to Grow
According to the BEAS assessment, the new boiler installation is projected to deliver an estimated annual energy saving of 204,882kWh and an estimated annual carbon saving of over 46 tonnes of CO2e, with a projected payback period of 5 years on the total project cost of just under a quarter of a million pounds, part-funded by a £100,000 grant.
Beyond fuel efficiency, the twin-boiler VSRT configuration has simplified maintenance and reduced insurance and inspection costs. Running the boilers on alternate days, with the standby unit kept on setback, has removed the need for costly weekend-only servicing and eliminated a recurring non-destructive testing requirement.
"Our insurers really like it. It's removed the need for NDT." said Simon. "There was a lot more complexity involved in operating, maintaining, insuring and inspecting a horizontal boiler. A lot of my headaches have gone away now."
The added resilience and lower running costs have also given Cleone Foods the confidence to plan a move to a third production shift, increasing factory output without a proportional rise in operating costs.
"We're happy that with the new VSRT installation, it's more reliable, it's more cost effective to run, and it's helping us achieve more output from the factory, with very little increase in cost." said Simon.
A Long-Term Partnership Built on Trust
Simon also credited the smooth transition to thorough planning and a well-established relationship with Fulton, which also supplied the original boiler in 2008.
"It's about finding the right partners, the people to give you the right advice and the right information while you're in the planning stage, and people who are willing to work with you." he said. "That's what we have with Fulton. It's been a long relationship, and they've never let us down."
Asked to sum up the VSRT boilers in a single phrase, Simon was direct: "They're efficient, they're minimising our fuel use, but they're also a boiler that's good to work on and good to work with. They're easy to use, they're easy to maintain. We're very pleased with them. Simplified, streamlined, cost reduced."
For food and drink manufacturers weighing up a steam boiler upgrade, Cleone Foods' experience underlines the value of matching equipment precisely to production demand, and of partnering with suppliers who can support every stage from planning through to commissioning.