Our History
Humble Beginnings
Cold Move has roots that trace back to the mid 1950’s when the Company’s founding father, Bill Woodward, began importing sausages off the boat train from Ireland and then distributing them from his then home in a small village outside Oswestry in Shropshire, to local shops and pubs.
The original business was registered as Woodward Distributors (Selattyn) Ltd and became known throughout the frozen food industry as “Woodwards”
From Wholesalers To Supply Chain Specialists
Recognising early potential, Bill expanded into the fledgling frozen food industry, becoming the region's first wholesaler and distributor. Growth led to the 1969 construction of a dedicated warehouse and distribution facility on Oswestry's Maesbury Road Industrial Estate, supplying pubs, restaurants, and retail shops. As retailers shifted to central buying, traditional wholesaling died out. Woodwards adapted to this shift by pivoting from wholesaling to specialised temperature-controlled logistics services.
New Beginnings
In 1979, the company launched Shropshire Cold Storage to offer bulk storage solutions. Following founder Bill Woodward’s retirement in 1996, his son Nigel took ownership and sold the wholesale division including the "Woodwards" name to Iceland plc in 1997. This prompted a rebranding to Cold Move to reflect their sole focus on third-party logistics. By then, the Oswestry site had scaled to a 9,000+ pallet capacity, managing large weekly distributions for major retailers and manufacturers.
Investing In The Future
Over the subsequent years the business has invested millions in new temperature controlled storage facilities, blast freezing capability, and modern mobile racking solutions.
Today, the site provides 14,000 pallet spaces and a comprehensive range of value added services for retail, wholesale, manufacturing, import, and meat processing customers.
In more recent years, the company has invested significantly in sustainable solutions for the site which includes new energy sources, such as solar and CHP systems. You can find out more by visiting our Sustainability page linked below.