PROJECT |
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN |
|||||
Images by Babylonstoren |
Johannesburg branch . The cold room facilities with their online marketing has grown rapidly since the installation of the original cold rooms and consequently required additional space . New rooms were built to specifications , such as : a glass freezer room , cold fresh fine picking , cold holding , 3x12 foot Coldcab lofty dairy upright display fridges , loading and carton live , cold delivery and dispatch . All these areas operate at specific temperatures as required for optimal storage of products . Part of the overall project involved establishing a conveyor belt system for ease of storage involving a cold holding room and a cold picking room .
Cool Reaction approached Daikin for a solution for the project . Cool Reaction was responsible for the supplying , installing and commissioning of all the refrigeration equipment on a turnkey basis , with Daikin ZEAS refrigeration condensers mounted on the outside of the wall to save internal space .
To house the condensers a steel structure was built outside the premises approximately 2.5m above ground level so that vehicles and equipment had access within the building .
Cool Reaction was also involved with the air conditioning equipment consisting of mainly ducted hide-away splits and cassette units .
THE ENTIRE LOGISTICS , FROM FARM TO WAREHOUSE , TAKES LESS THAN 24 HOURS
Redelinghuys outlines the journey of Babylonstoren ' s cold chain logistics as having begun five years ago in Cape Town . “ Initially an online venture launched during the Covid-19 pandemic , and the business quickly saw success motivating us to offer the same fresh produce in Johannesburg starting three years ago .”
Babylonstoren maintains a meticulous cold chain to ensure the freshness of its products . " Seventy percent of our products are manufactured in Cape Town . We have several production facilities on the farm itself , and the produce is stored under temperature according to the standards ," he details .
|
© Cold Link Africa
© Cold Link Africa
|
The cold room under construction . |
Stocking up the cold room in Midrand with conveyor belt system .
“ From Cape Town the produce is transported , ensuring the cold chain is maintained throughout . Upon arrival in Midrand , strict inspections are conducted before the products are stored in the Babylonstoren warehouse ' s temperaturecontrolled areas . We aim to get the products into the freezers or refrigerated areas within three minutes of arrival . The entire process , from farm to warehouse , takes less than 24 hours ," says Redelinghuys
Babylonstoren ’ s previous facility in Johannesburg did not include cold storage , limiting their ability to handle perishables . Recognising the need for a dedicated cold storage facility , they procured a new
warehouse and embarked on developing state-of-the-art coolers , freezers , and bulk storage areas .
" We procured this new warehouse to develop our cooler freezers and bulk storage , ensuring we adhere to the cold chain standards . The new cold store is significantly larger than the previous setup . The previous facility measured approximately 26m by 5m - in contrast , the new cold store spans about 400m 2 , doubling the cold storage capacity , while the entire warehouse covers 1 200m 2 providing space for efficient operations as well as capacity to meet the growing demand for our premium fresh produce in Johannesburg .”
|
© Cold Link Africa
Babylonstoren operations manager Johannesburg , Koos Redelinghuys ; and Graham Bloom , owner of contractor Cool Reaction ( Pty ) Ltd .
Maintaining a stringent cold chain is crucial for Babylonstoren . For this reason , it has its own carefully temperature-engineered delivery vehicles instead of third parties . The company has conducted numerous trials and tests to ensure compliance . " Our third-party supplier from Cape Town to Gauteng is compliant with our standards . Adjustments , such as loading products at 2 ° C instead of 4 ° C , have been implemented to maintain quality during transit .”
Monitoring is a key component to Babylonstoren ' s strategy . " We have metrics installed in the vehicles and fridges , monitored 24 / 7 ," Redelinghuys explains . This constant vigilance ensures optimal shelf life for their products .
TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLED ZONES
The new facility boasts various temperature - controlled zones to accommodate different product requirements :
• Holding facility and picking shelves : Maintained under 5 ° C , with picking shelves running between 2 ° C and 4 ° C .
• Packing area : Kept under 10 ° C , but products cannot be held for more than two hours before being transferred to the holding area .
• Carton live area : Also , under 5 ° C , where orders are routed and marked .
• Loading zone : Vehicles ’ refrigeration pre-cooled to under 5 ° C before loading , ensuring the cold chain is not broken during transport .
• Wine is stored between 14 ° C and 15 ° C .
• Specialised freezing units : Babylonstoren also manages extremely temperature-sensitive products , such as gelato , for which freezer units are set to -25 ° C degrees to keep intact . The company has also installed freezer units in their fleet of vehicles to maintain these temperatures during delivery .
|
Images by Babylonstoren |
They have refrigerated vehicles doing online deliveries . |
INNOVATION IN FLEET MANAGEMENT
Babylonstoren Midrand has 1 000 SKUs across different categories : dairy , meat , wine , juice and gelato products . A multitemperature capability ensures that all products , regardless of their temperature requirements , are delivered in optimal
|