My first attempt at this was to join up with Dennis Hayes of the Industrial Digest , with whom I had previously had contact with as an advertiser . Together , we launched the Cold Chain newspaper in September 1986 . A year later , Dennis and I decided to part ways and the first Cold Link newspaper was published in September 1987 .

With my involvement in the industry since 1970 , I had managed to build up a wide network of contacts . This proved invaluable in developing the circulation of The Cold Link — in addition to the support from many of the readers and industry role players .

The first edition went out to 2 800 people and had 10 pages of content . In those days , we needed litho-positives and colour printing was rather expensive so I stuck to black and white mostly . I hastily had to learn the practicalities of printing . It was exceedingly difficult , because you used to do the layout in galley and to change something was time consuming . The process was not as straightforward as it is today .

The distribution was also tedious . Many of the copies for posting was hand folded by myself . I would get some students in to help fold the copies , print the labels , and send for postage . This was all done in-house for quite a number of years .

The response from the industry was very encouraging in the form of advertising and participation , and I received many heartening letters .

THE BIRTH OF SARDA

Through the readership , it became evident that the industry needed some form of coordination between all the role players in the cold chain . The idea of a refrigerated transport association was suggested and we held an interest meeting at the President Hotel in February 1990 . We had a good attendance from across the country , with more than 200 people supporting the concept of bringing together the local cold chain industry .

This gave birth to the South African Refrigeration Distribution Association ( SARDA ), which was formed to cover not only refrigerated transport but all role players in the logistics chain . The first SARDA annual meeting was held at the Holiday Inn Hotel at the then- Jan Smuts Airport in June 1990 . SARDA had a national council with centres in Johannesburg , Durban , and Cape Town , and I was honoured as the founding president .

A GLOBAL NETWORK

The Cold Link created a platform for networking with global industry associations , which I met through visiting exhibitions elsewhere in the world . Also , associations visiting South Africa would make contact to gain access to the market . As the publication grew , more contacts were made with the publication by overseas companies and associations to gain access to my network of readers .

The Cold Link served as the mouthpiece of SARDA and with that , we developed a working relationship with the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses ( IARW ). In association with IARW , we jointly presented three courses in cold store management , starting off in Cape Town at Stellenbosch University . From there we moved to Durban and

then to Johannesburg , with a two-year period in-between .

We also built up good contacts with the International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration ( IIAR ) and eurammon . We have had visits from these associations to South Africa — all through the networking of The Cold Link .

Our readership has always been widespread — we even have readers in the most remote places , like Estonia .

Highlights over the years include sponsored visits to exhibitions in Thailand , Germany , and France . Not to mention the motor shows in Hannover , Paris , and Birmingham and the many visits to the annual IIAR convention in the US . Each time building up more contacts and expanding the network .

REFRIGERATION EXHIBITION

Another concept that emanated from the magazine was that South Africa could certainly support a standalone refrigeration exhibition , which had not been done before . I stuck my neck out and ventured into the organising of an exhibition . And so the first Cooling Expo was held in September 1992 at the Goodwood Showgrounds in Cape Town . Exhibitors came from all over the world and to everyone ’ s surprise , the show boasted 2 070m 2 of exhibition space with 2 882 visitors . It was a challenge , though , as there was political unrest in the country at the time : the Boipatong massacre had just taken place . We were considered a ‘ violent country ’ — but people still came .

It was also decided to have a FRIGAIR conference alongside the Cooling Expo in 1992 . SARDA joined forces with the South African Institute of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning ( SAIRAC ) to hold the first FRIGAIR conference outside Pretoria . For the first time , FRIGAIR actually also generated an income . The profit was

shared between SAIRAC and SARDA and used for their educational programmes .

The exhibition hall wasn ’ t the best . I remember some of the challenges : people were complaining that during the night , the birds had covered their leaflets with droppings , and then , one night , it rained and all the leaflets were wet . But we had a great time and people who had been sceptical about the event were overwhelmed with the orders they took at the show . The rest is history . Since then we have had similar exhibitions .

FAIR AND UNBIASED COVERAGE

One aspect that has contributed to the growth and expansion of The Cold Link was building a reputation of being unbiased to all parties in the industry . We provided fair coverage to industry events , whether people were advertisers or not . Readers have often been eager to have us participate in events , with the hope of receiving coverage .

The Cold Link became more like a family newspaper ; in fact , people felt as if they were part of the newspaper . Many of our readers have passed on during the years and we have always tried to inform the industry of that .

The paper has also been used as a reference library , with people often referring to our articles .

CHANGES OVER THE YEARS

Several changes have taken place in the industry . For the refrigerated transport industry , one of the biggest impacts was when it became deregulated and the permit system fell away . This meant that the market was now open . The legal limit of the vehicle has changed on numerous occasions , allowing bigger vehicles and payload space and each time bringing a new generation of vehicles — all to maximise pay volumes . When I started ,