PROJECT
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
Continued from
page 1
State-of-the-art iDube
cold store adds capacity
“ F
rom production to processing, it is
essential that we provide healthy
and highly competitive business
operating environments, which will present
new opportunities for both established and
emerging enterprises,” said Sihle Zikalala,
the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Economic
Development, Tourism and Environmental
Affairs, when opening the iDube Cold
Storage (iCS) on 8 August 2017. He added,
“The state-of-the-art iDube Cold Storage
facility will cater for the growing demand
in chilled and frozen perishables storage in
the region.”
Located 30km from the City of
Durban and its busy harbour, the Dube
TradePort is home to the King Shaka
International Airport and comprises
several development zones of growers,
manufactures, assemblers, and distributors
in different sectors of the economy,
for example aerospace and aviation-
linked manufacturing, agriculture, agro-
processing and many others.
FROZEN OR CHILLED
Designed to handle 8 600 mobile pallet
positions and storage for 12 000 tonnes of
chilled and/or frozen product, iCS will provide
supplementary services to many of the Dube
economic zones and perishable importers/
exporters from across southern Africa.
Loading and receiving bays are fitted with insulated docking seals and
docking levellers.
iCS was started as a greenfield project in
March 2016. “Before that, I spent three
months designing and researching what
I believed to be the ideal cold storage
facility,” said Hoffie Rautenbach, chief
operating officer and shareholder.
RESEARCHED FOR THE LATEST
TECHNOLOGY
Witt GP52 pumps circulate ammonia through the eight evaporators mounted in pods
with hydraulically operated doors. Each circuit has two ammonia pumps.
Rautenbach has a sales and marketing
background and after a transfer of
ownership of two family-owned farms in
Zululand, he joined Commercial Cold
Storage (CCS). Together with his family, he
moved from Botswana where he had been
involved with wholesale and distribution
iDu be Cold Store has strengthened the Dube Economic Zone as a modern logistics hub for air, land, and sea supply chains.
as well as a chain of pizza outlets. With his
experience in the handling of perishables,
he was appointed as the regional director
of commercial cold storage in Durban.
He took over from Jimmy Milne on his
retirement from the CCS Group. In 2012,
Rautenbach became involved in Precool
Cold Store in Hammersdale and in 2015, he
decided to follow his dream of building the
ideal cold storage facility.
“For three months, I researched the
best store layout, materials, equipment,
operating procedures, and a suitable site
in Durban. The Dube TradePort Special
Economic Zone had many attractions and
I immediately set my sights on Dube for
my ideal cold store.” He also travelled to
six countries in Europe to investigate new
technology and alternative materials other
than what was on offer in South Africa.
Being close to a modern international
airport, there was an adequate supply
of electric power and water — an
international airport must have an
alternative supply of power. At Dube,
the infrastructure was new and with only
three entrances to the estate, security is
tightly controlled. Dube is also close to the
N2 highway, which links to all the major
cities and borders. “I must add that Dube,
being close to my home in Salt Rock, also
influenced my choice,” said Rautenbach.
“The availability of land in Dube is at a
premium, but through Dube TradePort, I
was fortunate to make contact with Gary
Liebenberg, who already had an option
on a site in the Dube TradePort Zone,” said
Rautenbach during an interview with Cold
Link Africa.
COLD LINK AFRICA • November | December 2017
www.coldlinkafrica.co.za
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