ISSN 2412-7779
REGULARS
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
CONTENTS
VOL. 05 - NO. 1 | MARCH/APRIL 2020
Continued on
12 26
32 38
REGULARS
3 Eds Column
43 Wordsearch
40 Products
NEWS
4 Cooling as a service reduces risk
7 GEA trains customers on new product offering
9 South African industry sees potential in Cooling-as-a-Service model
9 Serco replaces Super Group Convenience fleet
ASSOCIATIONS
10 CGA’s outlook for Southern African citrus industry
11 PPECB welcomes new Board Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson
PROJECTS
12 10 Years on – Pick ‘n Pay Strand R717/R744 Cascade system
16 Maxiflex delivers door solutions to Evergreens
EVENTS
19 ATMOsphere CPT: Natural refrigerants are the way to go
21 GCCA SA gains perspective of northern region challenges
FEATURES
22 Bitzer 2020 refrigerant report: Part 1
26 Centre for Sustainable Cooling and shecco refine ‘clean cooling’
29 Is 2020 the year of data collaboration in the supply chain?
30 Guideline for safety for construction, service, and maintenance workers
CONTRIBUTORS
32 John Ackermann: Risk cover, fire protection and insurance for cold stores
36 Keeping Africa fed as Covid-19 sinks its teeth in
LOCAL MANUFACTURING
38 Staying cold, manufacturing locally
The cold chain stands front-row
EDITOR’S COLUMN
amidst the world’s woes
As the new editor for Cold Link
Africa, I couldn’t have anticipated
entering an industry and then
immediately being dropped into a
lockdown as countries around the world
battle the latest global pandemic –
Covid-19, commonly known as
coronavirus.
What has quickly emerged for me
though, is that the cold link is, and will
always be, an essential service around
the world as food and perishables such as
medical goods are required to be moved
and stored correctly and efficiently.
One thing for certain going forward
are the changes we can expect in terms
of how things are done in future - how
sourcing is handled, what reliance is
placed on imported goods through the
supply chain, and of course the liability
of ownership as most businesses have
been brought to an abrupt halt, not only
in South Africa but around the world.
I have read a number of articles
speculating that the HEVACR industry
can play a significant role in controlling
such a pandemic, as with the food
supply chain for example, contamination
could arise at a number of places with a
virus like Covid-19 where some scientists
believe that approximately half of a
population could be infected and not
even know it.
A recent article published by the
Global Food Chain Alliance (GCCA)
showed that research by the American
Centre for Disease Control revealed
that as many as 4 200 workers in meat
processing facilities had contracted
the virus across the country, based on
testing of only 115 facilities’ workers. This
is an excellent example of the controls
that are needed to ensure contaminantfree
goods. What is known about
the coronavirus is that it prefers cool
temperatures – that you would typically
find in places along the food supply
chain in processing and storage.
Nevertheless, looking forward, as
‘hindsight is a perfect science’ as
they say, the industry can anticipate
changes. Now please don’t get me
wrong, change is good as it leads to new
ideas, new opportunities and new ways
of doing which is essentially what drives
the world from stage to stage and the
cold link from producer to consumer will
remain as important as ever and Cold
Link Africa will be there to keep supplying
you with all industry-related information.
In this issue we bring you global news
and some opinions on how governments
should handle the food supply chain into
Africa as well as association updates.
Cooling as a service (CaaS) is getting
a lot of attention at the moment and
we have some feedback from industry
meetings as well as other information
on this new and innovative service.
One of our features covers installation
safety and we look at the Pick ‘n Pay
Strand R717/R744 Cascade System 10
years on. We also have feedback on
the ATMOshpere event that took place
recently in Cape Town and we offer part
1 of the Refrigerant Report compiled and
offered by Bitzer that will be published
over the next few issues.
I further want to welcome your
comments and feedback, whether
compliment or complaint, as we value
all opinions and want to supply you with
the information you want to know about.
Should you wish to get in touch about
any projects you’d like to put forward for
publishing, want us to know about your
events or have company news to share,
please know our doors are open and we
will consider any contributions.
I trust you find value in this issue of
Cold Link Africa and that you continue to
keep safe during this extraordinary time
in the world’s history.
Ben
Please connect to our social media
communities:
Cold Link Africa Online
Cold Link Africa
ColdLinkAfrica
Please contact me via any of the
following channels:
Email: [email protected]
Office: +27 11 579 4940
Cell: +27 82 940 0701 (Call/Text/
WhatsApp)
COLD LINK AFRICA • May 2020 www.coldlinkafrica.co.za 3