www. refrigerationandaircon. co. za RACA Journal I September 2025 33
Project
INSIDE A STATE-OF-THE-ART AIR-CONDITIONED BANANA RIPENING FACILITY
By Eamonn Ryan
Beyond the advanced refrigeration systems essential for fruit ripening, Farmwise’ s facility features robust air conditioning infrastructure to maintain stable environmental conditions in the pre-cooling and packaging zones.
All images © RACA Journal
Zire-Z entrance Bracken Refrigeration Services( BRS) has successfully completed a significant in-house agricultural facility project, DCS-ZIRE which is part of the Subtropico Group, a fresh produce centre with cold rooms, ripening rooms and a fully functional distribution centre in north Pretoria. The project involved the design and installation of a Farmwise packing facility and sophisticated ethylene-ripening within the same building – primarily for bananas, but also a wide variety of produce including apples, oranges and avocados.
The project, spearheaded by Bracken Refrigeration Services project manager Morné Seymore, commenced with an initial requirement for 23 ripening rooms in mid-March 2020 and reached completion within approximately five months, despite challenges posed by the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these challenges, including brief work stoppages due to both material shortages and COVID-19 related compliance requirements, the project progressed steadily from its March 2020 start to its conclusion in August / September of the same year, including a final month to address minor snags.
Following the successful completion of the initial phase in 2020, this collaboration between Bracken Refrigeration and DCS-ZIRE Subtropico ' s continued and involved a second phase in 2022, followed by this current third phase.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONING FOR PRE- COOLING ZONES Beyond the critical refrigeration systems designed for precise fruit ripening, the facility also incorporated significant air conditioning infrastructure to maintain optimal environmental conditions within the pre-cooling and boxing areas utilised by Farmwise. The detailed ductwork design for this system was handled by BRS.
Seymore says: " We also supplied the air conditioning rooftop package units for these zones. Specifically, we provided four air-cooled rooftop packages, each with a capacity of 240 000 BTUs, to service the areas not enclosed within insulated panels." This resulted in a substantial air conditioning capacity, totaling approximately 960 000 BTUs or 281 kilowatts. These units were
www. refrigerationandaircon. co. za RACA Journal I September 2025 33