Frank Vale Award 2018

Download Information Sheet

Download Application Form

RWTA Exclusive Member Networking Event - Archibald Dinner

RWTA (QLD Division) Network Speed Dating

On Thursday the 31st May, RWTA held an Networking Only Function at the Newstead Brewing Co at Milton. 

Always pleased to mix things up a bit, this function was a little bit different! 

Sponsored by Better Storage Systems, this networking platform took place in the afternoon with a couple of beers and finger foods so that people could sit and relax. 

Between the Cold Storage sector and our associates, together in a relaxed atmosphere the group sat together in a ‘speed dating’ set-up to learn more about each other, the companies we work with and how we can maximise our working relationships in the future. 

An excellent outcome and enjoyed by all, we are looking towards welcoming all the familiar faces and new attendees to our next Queensland event to enjoy the company of our Industry colleagues  and share the best of Cold Storage Updates!

NSW Division Breakfast on the 10th April 2018

We were delighted  to see so many people attend this breakfast and hear information pertaining to the CoR and the updated laws related to labour hire . A great opportunity to network and enjoy a pleasant view on a Tuesday morning before heading off to work.

RWTA (SA Division) Networking Event

RWTA News: Cold Stores Electric Shock for Frydenberg

The Refrigerated Warehouse Industry welcomed the opportunity to speak with the Hon Josh Frydenberg, The Minister for Energy and Environment, and Ross Vasta MP, the Federal Member for Bonner to discuss the shocking increase in energy prices over the last 18 months. 

---

Event Photos

RWTA News : Chairman Jeff Hogarth Assumes New Role

Announcing new RWTA Executive Officer

The Refrigerated Warehouse & Transport Association of Australia (RWTA) is proud to announce  the appointment of Marianne Kintzel as the new Executive Officer effective from Monday 8 January 2018.

Marianne has a broad  range of experience across a number of industries that include Transport, Logistics, Cold Stores, Warehousing, Energy, Manufacturing, Mining,  Coal Seam Gas, Government, Education, Training, Media Sales, Travel and Hospitality. This diversity in industries within Queensland and Nationally, has given Marianne the opportunity to develop strategic business partnerships, sales growth and internal business projects successfully. 

This. coupled with her excellent communication skills, has allowed Marianne to naturally build profitable relationships with stakeholders and key decision makers alike, at all levels within an organisation.

In the coming weeks Marianne will be in contact with you, the members and associates of the RWTA, as she is excited to discuss ways in which the RWTA can be of benefit to you!

Marianne will be based in Queensland however she will regularly travel to meet with members and Industry leaders. Marianne can be contacted at mariannek@rwta.com.au or mobile +61 490 799 777.  

RWTA Head Office Opening Hours Over Holiday Period

The RWTA Head Office will be closed from the  5pm Thursday the 21st of December and reopen Monday 8th of Jan.

Have a great break!

Anne Thornton

Administration Officer

RWTA Board Changes

Following the recent Board Meeting and Annual General Meeting of the RWTA, the Chair of the RWTA is now held by Jeff Hogarth (Americold) ably supported by Greg Holt (Swire Cold Storage) as the Vice Chair.

David O’Brien (Doboy Cold Stores) now holds the position of Past Chair following a 2 year term of office. 

The other Directors remaining on the Board are: 

Paul Fleiszig- Corporate member- Oxford Logistics Group,

Rachel Corcoran- QLD representative (Americold), 

Steve Donaldson- NSW Representative (S&D Logistics), 

Bill Andary- SA Representative (Auscold Logistics) 

Greg Lucas- VIC Representative (Oxford Logistics Group)

RWTA Honors Cold Chain Leader with Life Membership Award

The Refrigerated Warehouse & Transport Association of Australia (RWTA) bestowed the Life Membership Award to Paul Fleiszig, Director Oxford Logistics Group. The Award and Life Membership Medallion was presented to Fleiszig by RWTA Immediate Past Chairman & current GCCA Chairman, David O’Brien during the Global Cold Chain Summit conducted by RWTA and the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA) in Sydney (October 2017).

“Paul has done so much for the association, so it is truly rewarding to recognise him for his commitment to the organisation and the industry” O’Brien said. “He is always ready to share his knowledge and is most generous with his time to ensure others in our great industry benefit from his knowledge and expertise.”

Life Membership of the RWTA is bestowed on those members who have made an outstanding contribution to the Cold Storage Association of Australia (1941 to 1993), and to the RWTA (1993 to present day), through their involvement and commitment to the Australian Cold Chain.

Fleiszig has over 23 years of experience in all facets of the cold storage industry following a career as an accountant before joining the family business. He has been involved in the design and project management of a number of new facilities. He has been an active member of the RWTA in Victoria for many years before becoming a member of the National Executive as a Board Member. He served as Vice-Chairman of the RWTA from 2007 – 2011 as National Chairman for 4 years 2011 – 2015 and has continued to serve as the immediate Past Chairman since 2015. 

Fleiszig recognised that members wanted to contribute and to share ideas about day-to-day issues confronting our businesses. To this end, Paul was responsible for establishing sub-committees to involve and engage RWTA members. His advocacy in this area saw sub-committees created to address industry concerns in the areas of Pallet Management and Controllers, Transport Issues and Energy Efficiency. 

“I am extremely honoured to receive the Life Membership Award” stated Fleiszig. “To be included in this exclusive group of industry leaders is very much appreciated.”

Read more about past Life Membership Award Recipients here - http://www.rwta.com.au/rwta-life-members/. To view photos from the Summit go to the Summit post event website - http://www.gcca.org/blog/gallery/global-cold-chain-summit/ 

2017 Frank Vale Award Winner

The Frank Vale Award has been awarded annually since 1993 to acknowledge talented young people within the industry, who are 35 years of age, or younger, have worked in the cold chain industry for a minimum of three years, and who have demonstrated to their employers that they have the potential to become future leaders, and make a positive contribution to the development of the Australian Cold Chain Industry.

The Refrigerated Warehouse & Transport Association of Australia (RWTA) is proud to announce Mathew Reiffel, Operations Manager, Americold Logistics, as the recipient of the 2017 Frank Vale Award. The Award was presented to Reiffel by RWTA Immediate Past Chairman, David O’Brien and Shannon Porter, CEO Retracom Contracting (award sponsor) during the Global Cold Chain Summit conducted by RWTA and the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA) in Sydney (October 2017).

On behalf of all RWTA members we wish to congratulate Mathew on becoming the Frank Vale Award Winner for 2017, and we wish him all the best for the future.

Download Press Release

International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses Elects New Officers and Board Members

(ALEXANDRIA, VA, May 10, 2017) – David O’Brien (Doboy Cold Stores, Hemmant, Queensland, Australia) was elected as the 2017-2018 Chairman of the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses (IARW) Board of Directors on April 25, 2017. As the new chairman and the first Australian to chair the board in decades, O’Brien plans to focus on the Lead the Cold Chain aspect of the organization’s strategic plan; specifically, how the cold chain can be developed and employed to maximize food rescue and help feed the less fortunate throughout the world.

“After learning that the world produces enough food to feed 10 billion people yet there are 800 million people chronically undernourished, I realized the tremendous impact that cold chain development can have on feeding the hungry,” O’Brien said. “Too often food is lost because of an underdeveloped cold chain and all of us at GCCA can change that. I look forward to driving food rescue efforts forward over my next year as chairman.”

IARW is the third-party temperature-controlled warehousing Core Partner of the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA). It dedicates itself to promoting best practices in the temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics industry through research, industry benchmarking, networking, and education. IARW members work closely with members of the World Food Logistics Organization (WFLO), another GCCA Core Partner, to improve food systems, specifically in relation to the safe, efficient, and reliable movement of perishable products to the global community.

O’Brien will be joined on the board by new IARW officers Vice Chairman Doug Harrison (VersaCold Logistics Services, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), and Treasurer Andy Janson (Hanson Logistics, St. Joseph, Michigan, USA).

Also elected to serve three-year terms on the IARW Board are directors-at-large Harry Halpert (MTC Logistics, Baltimore, Maryland, United States) and Neal Rider (AGRO Merchants Group, Dallas, Texas, United States).

Rich Bauer (South East Cold Storage, Miramar, Florida, United States) was elected to represent the Southeastern Chapter.

The new officers and board members were appointed to their board positions at the annual 126th IARW-WFLO Convention, held April 22-25 in California.

View a complete list of IARW and WFLO Board Members.

Vale Andrew Main

Andrew Glenn MAIN passed away on 13 March 2017 aged 54. Andrew is survived by his wife Lynn, children Amanda, Sarah & Damien. Andrew who worked for Crown Equipment for over 20 years, attended various functions organised by the RWTA in Victoria, as well as attending National Conferences. He was always willing to provide technical advice in relation to MHE applications and his friendly disposition will be missed by members who had the privilege to know Andrew over many of those years. We remember a fine man who made a valuable contribution to the RWTA.

Our thoughts and prayers to his wife, Lynn and children Amanda, Sarah & Damien.

Resignation of RWTA Executive Officer

Members and Associate Members of the Refrigerated Warehouse and Transport Association of Australia Ltd (RWTA) are advised that Mr Russell Sturzaker, the Executive Officer of the RWTA has tendered his resignation, effective Friday, 9th December, 2016.

On behalf of the RWTA Board and all Members and Associate Members of the RWTA, I wish to thank Russell for his professionalism, thoroughness and dedication during his two year tenure with the Association.

The following is an extract from my Chairman’s Report for 2015-2016. 

Under Russell Sturzaker’s stewardship, this past year, a great deal of foundation work has been initiated. Russell has directed a complete overhaul of our association’s website; introduced Wild Apricot membership and event management software; developed a special Member’s Portal to allow members to access the vast array of association documents, now archived electronically.

Russell has also initiated the development of a stand-alone website to better manage the complex elements of the association’s annual conferences. Members have benefited from the convenience and efficiencies associated with On Line Event Registration and On Line Payments and members can now gain access to the GCCA website directly, courtesy of a link established between our associations’ servers, during the past year.

In addition to attending the networking breakfasts organised by the state divisions, Russell provided support and garnered sponsorships, to ensure that each function was well run and well attended.

A search for a replacement Executive Officer has been initiated, and we expect this position to be filled early in the New Year.

We wish Russell well for the future. 

Regards,

David O’Brien

Chairman

A2EP Innovation Report

Earlier this week the Alliance to Double Energy Productivity Project released the first draft of a “Next Wave” project that explores the opportunity to make further major improvements in energy productivity through the deployment of innovative technologies and business models by 2030.

Two specific value chains are explored in this paper – one being food (from plate/ export back to farm) which is a very interesting read and obviously includes refrigeration and transport.

We thought this was worth sharing with RWTA Members, and any feedback or input would be greatly appreciated and can be forwarded to:  Jonathan Jutsen Chairman - Australian Alliance to Save Energy Email: jonathan.jutsen@a2se.org.au

Download Report

Want to know more?

If you’re interested to know more or participate, please visit the website: www.2xep.org.au/

or drop us a line at 2xEP@A2SE.org.au

---

Cheap and abundant energy has underpinned Australia's economic growth for decades. As energy prices rise and carbon constraints bite, our future prosperity depends on using energy more efficiently. Using less while doing more is key to Australia’s economic future. The 2xEP Forum presented in April 2014 tackled this critical, ambitious challenge: How do we double energy productivity in Australia by 2030?

We’re Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) Compliant

One of our priorities is to keep your information with us safe.

Last month, our Membership Database Software Package “Wild Apricot” became certified for Level 1 Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance.

This means that the through “Wild Apricot” the RWTA adheres to the policies and procedures set up by the major credit card companies to keep credit, debit and cash card transactions secure, and protect cardholders against misuse of their personal information.

Click here for more information on PCI DSS compliance.

2016 Frank Vale Award Winner

The Frank Vale Award has been awarded annually since 1993 to acknowledge talented young people within the industry, who are 35 years of age, or younger, have worked in the cold chain industry for a minimum of three years, and who have demonstrated to their employers that they have the potential to become future leaders, and make a positive contribution to the development of the Australian Cold Chain Industry.

 Graeme Lee (Polar Fresh Cold Chain Services) representing the RWTA NSW Division was announced as the 2016 Frank Vale Award Winner by Mr. Shannon Porter (CEO – Retracom Contracting) at the Conference Gala Dinner on Friday 2nd September 2016.

On behalf of all RWTA members we wish to congratulate Graeme on becoming the Frank Vale Award Winner for 2016, and we wish him all the best for the future.

New RWTA South Australian Division Chairman Appointed

The Refrigerated Warehouse and Transport Association of Australia Ltd (RWTA) wish to announce the appointment of a new South Australian Divison Chairman.

At the South Australian Division Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 2nd August 2016, and in accordance with the Articles of Association of the RWTA,

Tom Colyer – Operations Manager – Athol Park Freezers Pty Ltd, was appointed South Australian Division Chairman .

On behalf of all members we would like to congratulate Tom on his new appointment.

Cold Running Magazine - July 2016

Welcome to the latest issue of Cold Running Magazine. 

View Cold Running Magazine