BCCJ Member PKL to Boost Japan Operations

Introduction

Established in 1985 and based in the UK, PKL is Europe’s largest provider of temporary kitchens for hire. The company has a turnover of $30m, employs over 100 staff and has assets under management of $50m. In order to actively pursue its interest in the Rugby World Cup 2019 and Summer Olympic Games 2020, PKL has just opened a branch office in Hibiya, Tokyo, and hired a Japanese-speaking General Manager. The new GM, Matthew Setterfield, has been working in Japan for almost 20 years, and joins PKL after 6 years at Otsuka Pharmaceutical, where he was Head of Project Management. Going forward, the company is looking for business partners to expand its brand and Asian reach.

International Experience

With nearly 20 years of event experience, PKL Group is the world’s leading supplier of kitchens for international sporting events. The company has provided temporary catering facilities to the last five summer Olympic Games as well as Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Winter and Youth Olympics. PKL delivered the main dining facility at August 2017’s Taipei Summer Universiade, and is in the final preparation phase for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April 2018.

For such events, temporary kitchens are required to feed athletes, officials, workforce and public. Working with Olympic and other organising committees, PKL develops designs, specifications and construction proposals. Some examples of the scale of activity:

— At the London 2012 Olympic Games, PKL supplied 200 temporary kitchens cooking over 250,000 meals per day
— At the  Rio 2016, PKL designed and equipped the athlete’s village dining facility, which at 25,000sqm, was the size of five football pitches.

At Tokyo, the athlete’s village being built in Harumi Futo will include an 18,000sqm main dining hall, expected to be housed in a 2-storey temporary building.

Project Services

These projects are major undertakings as site workers alone can number over 100 at any one time. To administer this process, PKL takes full advantage of local legal, financial and engineering professionals through local partners and contractors. While the product offering is international, the delivery is specifically tailored to national regulations and norms, which for Japan will be essential given the unique requirements of the Japanese food service environment. PKL would be very pleased to hear from any BCCJ members with expertise or interest in major international games, whether from the food, construction or other perpective. PKL’s new Japan branch office is at: Level 14 Hibiya Central Building, 1-2-9 Shimbash, Minato-ku, Tokyo (Tel.03-5532-5684) and more information can be found at on their website .