INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
FEATURE
Cold store construction : investment favours quality partners By Benjamin Brits
As the world grapples with massive annual food-waste challenges , cold stores in South Africa are one of the segments in the cold chain examining vast growth and can contribute to the solution .
In the context of ‘ massive annual food
waste ’, and according to the most recent figures from the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations , food losses in the cold chain have now topped USD400-billion a year , or through another more significant picture – the food quantity wasted each year is of equivalent proportions to feed 2.56 billion hungry mouths .
From standard cold rooms to fancy turn-style mechanised designs , and from the biggest developments to the growing informal sector ( and even modular solutions direct to the farmers as a click and deliver online solution ), cold stores and rooms are gaining momentum , as economists predicted .
The local market too has become much more aware of waste because this ultimately means lost income , and today minimising this factor has become more important than ever . Additionally , our growing exports carry a significant value towards the economy and cannot be serviced or increased without this essential part of the chain .
So , cold stores are an obvious choice to minimise loss and to extend the shelf life of any perishable product , but before you now rush off and start investing in this segment , a number of considerations need to be applied , and on speaking to various industry specialists , many costly mistakes can be avoided , not to mention the very important elements the average Joe just wouldn ’ t be aware of .
No matter if you are splashing out a mere R75 000 or going large scale to a R300-million facility , many of the same principles can be applied to your choices in ensuring your needs are met and your business is a success – also avoiding the commonly forgotten operational costs that can break the bank over time .
Primarily , there are two driving factors in the management of perishables that require cold storage . Firstly , maintaining the cold chain correctly and effectively enables us to reduce the amount of waste that we have already identified ( understanding the fact that the limited resources and limits in what can be produced is as important as the losses too ), and secondly , the sustainability goals the world is working towards .
How this relates is through the fact that cold storage is directly related to a refrigeration component that in turn is directly related to energy demand
and refrigerants – some refrigerants of course being particularly bad for the environment . Also , other products such as insulation play a very big role through not only the materials used in manufacture , but their function .
THE STARTING POINT : A TEAM WITH THE RIGHT EXPERTISE
If you can ’ t compete , you will be in trouble from the start . A reality in any business is that many people overestimate their ability or capacity to ‘ handle things themselves ’. Sticking to your expertise is a major element of success . The same applies to the suppliers you appoint to make things happen . You don ’ t want to be left in a position to ask yourself “ where is the company that did the work ?”, because things have gone wrong . Sadly , but quite often , the case is that those companies have moved on or closed down because they offered the cheapest solution – there is much more to it than price .
At the start of any project a consistent element that comes to the fore having had the discussion with many industry role players , is that before a pick hits the ground or you start up that excavator , you have to have the assurance of a team with the right expertise .
“ For the new clients we all engage with , it could sound like a bit of a self-praise to get their business , but in reality , having the right expertise can be likened to an individual that needs to go for a medical procedure . You would naturally go to the right doctor with the right expertise and depending on the seriousness of the procedure you would likely go to a specialist with good referrals – simply to manage your risk . The same applies in this context . Realistically , everyone makes mistakes as they learn , but you can be assured that someone who has done 20 or 30 projects will already know to advise a client to avoid X , Y and Z . This is definitely not a situation I would recommend opting for ‘ call a friend ’, especially because very often the value in any of these projects will be significant to the owner ,” says Dawie Kriel , head of business development at Energy Partners Refrigeration .
Willem Schoeman , managing director at Central Specialist Group agrees fully says , ” Off the bat , I think it ’ s quite important to emphasise that at the end of the day cold stores are some of the most expensive structures that you can build – in terms of the construction , most of the time - and no matter the size , you start below ground with the floors that are different to regular floors , all the way through to the massive structures in high
All photos : © Precool Insulated Panels
Cold stores come in a variety of shapes and sizes , depending on the client ’ s requirements . From small stand-alone rooms to large commercial freezer rooms .
density warehousing , to the extremely expensive equipment deployed . Any mistakes will ultimately cost the client dearly , at some point .”
The process in constructing a cold store , and more specifically to the commercial market , starts with what one can only hope is the ‘ right site ’ to construct the facility .
The first part of this journey should be doing placement analysis , then followed by steps such as taking your customer base into consideration , inbound and outbound flows , making sure your flows are aligned with the storage capability and capacity , what you want to put though the facility , what the different sizes of the operational areas will be , and so on .
“ Customers will often specify that they want a cold store constructed at X site and position , with very specific sizes and then only afterwards think about the aforementioned points . This is where their problems start and is ultimately the reason having the right team from the beginning is crucial . What many people just don ’ t realise is that cold store construction is not just building a structure ( which any company can do ), as part of a bigger cold chain the processes involved are directly linked – it ’ s not only about food
Insulated panels here form the walling of this high density cold store in construction .
COLD LINK AFRICA • March / April 2021 www . coldlinkafrica . co . za 29