A pioneering Gloucestershire-based company has announced that it is expanding its business in Australia.

ISD Solutions, the UK's leading specialist sub-contractor in the design and construction of composite panel coldstore warehouses and a pioneer in single envelope clad rack solutions, has opened a new base in Melbourne, Australia.

The company, which is currently negotiating five major cold store projects in Australia, believes the potential for super-efficient cold storage facilities using the latest insulated PIR panels, especially single envelope high bay solutions, is significant, with an estimated market valued at AUD $100 million per annum.

The company, which has offices and manufacturing facilities in Gloucester, is forecasting an initial 10 per cent to 12 per cent market share in the first 18 months.

ISD Solutions CEO Andy Moon (pictured) said: "As the largest specialist cold store sub-contractor in the UK, we already have wide experience of delivering substantial projects in Europe and Scandinavia.

"Post Brexit, the market opportunity in Australia, where we are even now targeting a number of opportunities, is too important to ignore.

"There are few specialist subcontractors with our 25-year level of expertise, technical knowledge of PIR construction and in depth manufacturer relationships.

"Combine this with growing demand for highly efficient cold storage solutions and this is an obvious next step for ISD Solutions."

The fast-expanding frozen and chilled food industry in Australia, combined with growing demand for more thermally efficient chilled and frozen storage facilities globally, makes single envelope construction and clad rack freezers using PIR insulated panels increasingly attractive.

High bay solutions are also attractive as land prices increase.

PIR insulated panel construction and single envelope design have already proven themselves in the UK market, offering faster build times, lower construction costs with significantly reduced secondary steel work, and a highly efficient air-tight structure, all contributing to lower operational running costs during the life of the building.

The company is completing work on a new 5,500m2 single envelope cold storage warehouse for Turners, one of the UK's leading temperature controlled distribution companies, and the first to incorporate Kingspan's latest IPN-QuadCore technology, a new insulated panel core which delivers a thermal improvement of up to 20 per cent over standard PIR insulated panels.

ISD expects to champion the same benefits and innovations to main contractors and end-users in the Australian market.

ISD will initially target the design and construction of external single envelope storage and distribution facilities, but also sees opportunities similar to the UK market for internal chill-store and cold-store facilities within the grocery and food manufacturing sectors as well as clean rooms, pharmaceutical manufacturing and storage, and other temperature critical sectors.