Cold Link Africa July/August 2019 | Page 13

NEWS INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN Global Cold Chain Alliance sets foot in Africa By John Ackermann A • • • • • • Attendance at 2005 IARW Conference in the US. Three-day workshop on “Successful Management of Refrigerated Warehouses” – held at The Bay Hotel, Camps Bay (October 2002). GCCA Cold Chain Summit – held at the Westin Hotel, Cape Town (October 2015). Study tours to South Africa and sector surveys. Two participants in the international GCCA Awards for young (under 35 years) cold store operations staff: Ivan Sutic of Chilleweni (2016) and Francois Smith of Sequence Logistics (2017). Global Cold Storage Capacity Survey. MOVING INTO AFRICA SARDA was founded in June 1990 to promote excellence in the distribution of temperature controlled products in Southern Africa. Since 1990, the population of Africa has passed the one billion mark, the demographics of Southern Africa have been redefined and natural resources of water and available land now barely cope with the demand for food to feed the many nations across the continent. Food supply and security are no longer dependent on a single country or continent, but rather on a global supply chain linking growers, producers and distributions across continents and borders. The GCCA, along with its core partners: IARW, World Food Logistics Organisation (WFLO); International Association for Cold Storage Construction (IACSC); and International Refrigerated Transportation Ivan Sutic (centre) welcomed the group from Angola and Ghana when they visited the Chilleweni Cold Store in Johannesburg. Lizelle van der Berg (second from left) accompanied the group and was also joined by Alice McKinnon of the GCCA headquarters in Washington. Association (IRAT) has developed strong partnerships in more than 80 countries outside the US to establish sustainable food supply chains with mutual benefits for all role players. Similar to partnership with members in other countries such as Brazil, India, and Australia, the GCCA has for decades aimed to establish a permanent presence in the SADC region. After years of collaboration and many visits to South Africa, the GCCA has now appointed Lizelle van der Berg as their permanent representative in South Africa. The appointment of Van der Berg, with her base in Cape Town, will certainly cement the relationship between the GCCA, cold chain role players in Southern Africa, and with SARDA. Within days of her appointment, Van der Berg was host to a study group of four cold chain role players from Angola and one from Ghana. During the six-day visit, the group visited cold store operations in Johannesburg and Cape Town, refrigeration service companies and logistics operators to forge partnerships and networks. SARDA and Cold Link Africa welcome the appointment of Van der Berg and are confident of developing a strong partnership. CLA fter years of collaboration and many visits to South Africa, in particular by Richard Tracy, the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA) has taken the positive step of appointing Lizelle van der Berg as its permanent representative in South Africa. In May 1990, a group of International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses (IARW) members and their partners visited Cape Town after attending an international meeting in Florida, USA. The visit to Cape Town was organised by Gert Woolfson of Paarden Eiland Cold Store and chairman of the South African Association of Cold Stores. During the visit, the group went on a tug ride in Table Bay Harbour, visited the V&A tourist centre with a model of how the harbour would be developed into the now Waterfront, watched port hole containers being stacked in the Blue Store, met with Kent Durr (the Minister of Trade and Industry), and were treated to a South African braai done by staff of SAR&H. There were 14 couples and four singles in the American group led by Bill Hudson, who was at that time president of IARW and a director of the US-based Refrigeration Research Foundation. The visit of May 1990 marked the start of a long co-operation between the Southern African Refrigerated Distribution Association (SARDA) and the IARW. Joint initiatives have included: • Three-day training courses on “Cold Store Operations” – held at Stellenbosch University (2007); Blue Waters Hotel in Durban (2008); and OTTC College in Springs (2009). The first GCCA/ SARDA short course (three days) on “Cold Store Operations” was held at the University of Stellenbosch in February 2007 in partnership with Prof Louw Hoffman. Richard Tracy (left) of GCCA with Michael Schuster (GIZ) at the Cold Chain Summit held from 15-17 October 2015 in Cape Town. COLD LINK AFRICA • July/August 2019 www.coldlinkafrica.co.za 13