The Publication For The Grocery Trade

Verco's Kingston cabinets in crime prevention role

Verco Limited has supplied a number of integral open-chill Kingston cabinets to coffee shop chain Coffee@, which has prevented an attempted ram-raid and resulted in criminal convictions for two would-be thieves! To date, Verco - a leading supplier of refrigerated cabinets to the UK's convenience stores, supermarkets and independent retailers - has supplied 1.3m cabinets to Coffee@, which was established in Central London in 1999 and now has two shops on Brick Lane as well as sites at Tower Bridge Road, Bermondsey Street, Whitecross Road and Goswell Road. Shortly after taking delivery of two Kingston cabinets for the Goswell Road site, the shop was the target of a ram-raid. Explaining the events, Coffee@ Managing Director Adrian Jones says the two thieves were doomed from the start. "According to eyewitnesses and police reports, it appears that the kerb outside the coffee shop was too high, and as one ram-raider tried to encourage the driver of the vehicle onto the pavement his co-conspirator accelerated too hard and drove over him, breaking his leg. "Not wishing to leave empty-handed, the driver continued with his attempt but only managed to hit a bench, which was stopped by one of the two Kingston cabinets, preventing further access. I am pleased to say that both ram-raiders were arrested and the Kingston survived with very little damage!" Verco's Sales and Marketing Director Colin Jones says that when Adrian called to tell him about the ram-raid he thought needed a replacement cabinet: "I was delighted to hear that not only did the cabinet stop the ram-raid but it only suffered a small dent in the process." Commenting on his reasons for specifying Verco, Adrian says: "We approached Verco after seeing their cabinets at a local Safeway store where we were impressed with their appearance and build quality. We were also delighted to find that the cabinets were manufactured in the UK and that they could be finished to our specification to complement the look and feel of our shops." He adds that Coffee@ buys its coffee and tea from 'FairTrade' sources and also prefers to purchase as much equipment and furniture as possible from UK manufacturers and suppliers. Verco Ltd Tel: 01491 839966 www.ver.co.uk