WORKING in sub-freezing conditions is all in a day’s work at the Iceland Distribution Centre.

DHL manages the centre in Penzance Drive on behalf of Iceland and is responsible for the stock control for all the stores in the South West.

The 285,000-square foot centre is split into three sections – grocery products, fresh produce and the frozen section.

Five hundred people are employed at the centre, which has been in operation for the last 15 years.

There is a fleet of 100 lorries at the site, with 130 trailers, which deliver the goods in two shifts. The first fleet goes out at 3am and then they go out again at about 11am once they have returned.

The coldest work is for those employed in the large freezer, where temperatures drop as low as -22 degrees centigrade. It holds approximately 35 per cent of the total stock in the distribution centre.

The freezer is so cold it has been used by explorer David Hempleman-Adams as preparation for when he is heading off on an Antarctic expeditions.

Rob Franklin, general manager, said: “Everything you see in an Iceland store has been stored in this distribution centre and it comes here straight from the producer. The freezer is cold. The guys who work in there are only allowed to work in there for an hour before they take a break of ten minutes.”