Cold Link Africa November / December 2019 | Page 25

EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
Serco awarded for
high quality trailers
Serco won a gold certificate for their refrigerated trailers in the Innovation Awards held during the 2019
Automechanika Trade Fair in Nasrec, Johannesburg, in September.
S
“Tangible benefits of the Protec Steel
Frostliner trailers include reducing fuel
consumption and wear and tear on
the fridge, reducing carbon impact on
the environment and – through thermal
efficiency – improving product shelf life
and reducing load loss,” says Holcroft.
Serco won gold for its refrigerated
vehicle – the first trailer in South Africa
to achieve the South African Bureau
of Standards (SABS) approval for
erco CEO Clinton Holcroft sees the
win as a reward for the company’s
determination to give its customers
the edge by continually raising the
standard of its refrigerated vehicle bodies
in line with international benchmarks. “Our
mission has been to set the local
benchmark in refrigerated bodies after
identifying that the thermal performance
of units had not previously been
measurable in South Africa.
Receiving the award (from left) are: Trevor Holcroft, chairman; Clinton Holcroft, CEO; and
Charl Coetzee, managing director of Serco.
COLD LINK AFRICA •
November/December 2019
meeting standards related to the
transport of frozen and fresh food – the
Automechanika judges said the Protec
Steel unit built at Serco’s Durban factory
was of ‘top-class quality’.
WINNING FEATURES
The judges were impressed by
techniques used in the manufacture
of the trailer and the types of insulation
materials used. They said the vehicle’s
thermal efficiency helped reduce the
amount of diesel needed to run the
fridge, elevating its environmental
friendliness. “The journey started with
the investment in a state-of-the-art
panel injection press at our factory in
Durban’s Phoenix Industrial Park and
included a critical analysis of the design
and construction of our vehicle bodies
to ensure they adhered to international
benchmarks,” Holcroft explains.
“By introducing a measurable cold
chain factor for our bodies, we were
able to ensure a more efficient product,
which results in an increase in thermal
performance.” The thermal test at the
SABS enables Serco to measure its
vehicle body performance against an
international standard in a process that
involves stringent testing with specialised
equipment in a purpose-built test chamber
to determine the K-Value of the body.
“In these tough trading conditions,
customers want peace of mind that
they are buying a refrigerated vehicle
that is internationally certified, tried and
tested, and providing tangible benefits.
That is exactly what they get in Protec
Steel Frostliners,’’ says Holcroft. “People
in the industry are impressed by the finish
of the trailers’ coated steel panels and
the injected foam technique used in
their manufacture, which produces an
improvement in thermal performance of up
to a 40% over alternatives on the market.”
PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS
Customers also like the rice grain
aluminium floor which has proved to be
a durable, high-wearing feature. Other
highlights include fully welded aluminium
scuffs which create a durable, waterproof
and high strength structure; and new door
seals made of extended rubber material,
which provide an excellent thermal bridge
preventing the leakage of cold air. A
further advantage is that repair costs to
the vehicles are relatively low.
Serco also offers remote temperature
monitoring solutions in which multi-
temperature bodies are supplied,
making it possible for different products
to be transported in the same vehicles at
different temperatures using moveable
partitions to separate the zones. CLA
www.coldlinkafrica.co.za
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