Interview with Choice Energy

You would have seen recently the flyer introducing Choice Energy, New Members of the RWTA (view here).

It is our pleasure today to share Marianne's encounter with Alex Townsend, Partnerships Manager and Alan Gill, Executive Director of Choice Energy.

Swing into action: Join us for the Adelaide Golf Day

We are pleased to announce LINEAGE LOGISTICS as Platinum Sponsor of the RWTA Adelaide Golf Day being held on Monday 12th February 2024 at Kooyonga Golf Club!

This is a great opportunity to network with other professionals from the Cold Chain Industry. Enjoy a round of golf in a beautiful setting, and win some amazing prizes!

Dematic transforms John Dee’s beef supply chain for global success

RWTA Member, Dematic, have announced that John Dee, a family-owned Australian beef producer, has transformed its operations to enhance efficiency, productivity, accuracy, safety, and competitiveness to ensure its readiness for the evolving demands of global beef markets.

“We've been a beef processor in Warwick since 1945 and today we’ve transformed into a full-blown beef export and processing operation,” explains John Hart, Owner of John Dee, Warwick. “In the early days, we sold full sets of meat parts, whereas today we break them up and send different components to Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, the EU, and America.”

With growing demand, especially from international markets, John Dee faced a critical challenge. The company had outgrown its existing storage capacity, and manual operations were proving inadequate to meet the complexity and scale of their production.

“With the way we’re operating today, trying to get product into the right place at the right time, it was becoming almost impossible to do it by hand,” says Hart. “In our previous manual operation, people had to understand all the product codes and pick by hand out of a cold store. With over 10,000 cartons being produced a day, it became a logistical nightmare. A thousand cartons a year that would go out of date because they couldn't be located.”

Read article here

RWTA News: Interview with Smart Commercial Solar

Smart Commercial Solar’s Executive General Manager, Max Stenning speaks to RWTA about some exciting rebates available now in Victoria and ways that the cold chain in Australia can maximise solar opportunities while saving up to 40% on energy bills.

Like to know more? Click here to watch.

Award bestowed on long term Member of the RWTA, Stefan Jensen of Scantec!

Congratulations Stefan Jensen of Scantec!

The winners of the AIRAH Awards 2023 were announced at a glittering gala dinner held on Thursday, November 30 in Sydney and Stefan was awareded the prestigious James Harrison Medal. The James Harrison Medal is the highest honour AIRAH can bestow upon an individual. , it recognises the highest levels of individual achievement in the Australian refrigeration and air conditioning industry.

More than 250 members of Australia’s HVAC&R community gathered on AIRAH’s night of nights to recognise the outstanding achievements of individuals and companies within the sector.

The annual awards gala is one of the many ways AIRAH works to raise the profile of HVAC&R and shine a light on some behind-the-scenes heroes.

“The AIRAH Awards provide a platform to highlight the brilliant work our members do across a broad range of categories,” says AIRAH CEO Sami Zheng. “It’s an honour to help celebrate our industry’s leading projects, people and initiatives.”

 More about the James Harrison Award here

Coolclean, Efficiency for your site this Christmas season

Coming into the most hectic time of the year for the cold chain, one thing that you DO want are solutions to your problems.

Look no further.

You don’t have the time this summer to deal with cooling system failure or poor cooling performance.

HACCP certified, the hygiene cleaning service provided by Coolclean includes inspection, taking photos, and complete service reports for your cooling systems.  They will identify potential faults, fowling, poor airflow, poor water distribution, blockages, damaged or broken parts and poor access. They then report and plan around a solution when it suits YOU.  

Cooling systems include - Cooling towers – Fan coil units – Penthouse Units – Evaporators – Hybrid Adiabatic Units – Air Handling Units.

Cooling tower repair and rebuild service by FlowMatrix cooling towers.

Coolclean work flexible work hours to suit your business operation hours and offer Christmas and plant shutdown services.  

Click here to view the full list of services offered. For an obligation free quotation, call

Darren Driscoll
Director
Coolclean

21-21-22 National Drive
Hallam Vic 3803
Mob: 0408 855 435
darren@coolclean.com.au

NB: Initial site inspection required.   

RWTA New Member Alert: Welcome to Absolute Storage!

Absolute Storage have joined the RWTA!

A little about them;

They were established in 1991 and is a privately owned Australian and operated company. They are based in Melbourne, Victoria and operate nationwide.

Theirs is a full turnkey service for the design, specification and installation of storage systems such as pallet racking, shelving and automation.

Good news for the cold chain they have extensive freezer and temperature-controlled experience and can deliver on pallet Storage types such as selective pallet racking, double deep pallet racking, drive in pallet racking and cantilever racking.

They are a gold tier distributor for SSI Schaefer and have been since 2003, and they are one of the world’s largest and leading pallet racking manufacturers.

Absolute Storage can source and provide all racking manufactures material including Dexion and Colby.

Their Design and Installation of both semi and fully automated storage solutions includes:

• Ambient and temperature-controlled environments

• Semi-automated satellites and fully automated cranes

• End of production line automation such as conveyors, palletisers and wrappers

• Specific, “Freezer application” automation that has been designed and tested for below zero applications.

• Warehouse pallet racking audits, repairs and maintenance on ad-hoc or programmed scheduling.

• Full custom design of warehouse layout to maximise space and efficiency.

• Project Management team to oversee projects and installations.

Like to know more?

Call:
Scott Giles
Chief Executive Officer
Mb: 0419 796 670          
Ph: (61-3) 9799-2291 
www.absolutestorage.com.au

2024 Energy Market Outlook for Business ⏤ Choice Energy

We would like to introduce you to Choice Energy, new Member of the RWTA!

Choice Energy’s recent webinar provided a strategic roadmap for businesses to brace for 2024's electricity price peaks.

The session explains the connection between climate change, El Nino, and geopolitical shifts impacting energy markets.

Watch to gain actionable insights on optimizing rebates, tax breaks, and rectifying overcharging errors.

This webinar's focus encompasses crucial areas: unveiling emerging energy trends and technologies, leveraging solar solutions for cost reduction and sustainability, strategic positioning state-by-state, and insights into how major industries utilize tariffs and tax breaks to mitigate costs amidst market changes.

Find the recording of the webinar, click here.

For more insights, contact Choice Energy here.

Or

Alex Townsend
Mobile: 0435 080 646
Email: alex.townsend@choiceenergy.com.au
www.choiceenergy.com.au

Barpro: How to increase capacity in existing cold storage

Barpro is a long time Member of the RWTA and although they are based in South Africa, they have done work in the Australian Cold Chain. This article highlights how James Cunningham and his team are able to increase capacity in an existing cold storage facility. Read more below!

How to increase pallet capacity in an existing cold or freezer store:

As new cold stores become increasingly expensive to build, making better use of existing cold storage chambers should be attractive.

Barpro frequently installs mobile rails in new cold store floors together with fixed but “mobile friendly “racking system. 

This means that the racking has been designed to fit on mobile bases at a later date. In Barpro’s market, the standard freezer racking is fixed selective, unlike Australia where it is double deep.  

For instance, on one project in Namibia, a chicken abattoir had rails and fixed racking installed. 10 years later, the customer called for a second identical cold store to meet demand. As the abattoir staff had changed since the first project, there was no awareness of the original design. The payback on doubling capacity by simply installing mobile bases in the existing store was less than 6 months and took just three months to complete.

Mobile racking could also assist capacity-constrained Australian cold stores. The capacity gain over double deep racking is about 40% rather than 80 to 100% with fixed selective. Immediate accessibility to every pallet is a plus, and pallets are in full sight of the reach truck operator. An unscientific survey at one location in Australia suggests that put away /retrieving productivity in mobiles was 17% higher than for double deep.

Necessary steps to install mobiles in an existing Double Deep freezer:

1. Check floor for frost heave and make sure existing anti heave protection is working properly. Australian stores use sub floor pipes which are robust.  

2. Check with your civil engineer that the increased rail point loads can be spread using a reinforced overlay slab so as not to damage either the existing floor or the subfloor pipes. Overlay slabs are about 150 to 200mms in depth. Where possible, access ramps are installed on the outside of the store.    

3. Design the mobile racking.

4. Bring the cold store to ambient temperatures and remove existing racking.

5. Install the rails and support stools on the current floor, add reinforcing and pour...

6. Install the mobile bases, racking, additional lighting, labels, and new doors. If vertical rollup doors are already used, this should not be difficult. Bring the room to operating temperature…slowly.

Typical mobile initial design:

The project timeline will depend on the size of the store. The critical path is the time taken for overlay slabs to cure sufficiently. This is normally 28 days, and possibly longer if post tensioned. However, the racking can be installed during this period. On a 2000 pallet room the project should be completed in around 6/7 weeks from when the room is brought to ambient.

If you would like to investigate how suitable your existing freezers might be for retrofitting mobile racking, please get in touch with James Cunningham, Barpro Storage SA. 

Contact: james@barpro.co.za 

Raising frozen food temperature by 3°C can make global food chain more sustainable

New research from an international team of scientists has shown that raising the temperature of frozen food by just 3°C could safely reduce food loss and cut carbon emissions by 17.7 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

Published yesterday (Wednesday 29th Nov) in a new report called Three Degrees of Change, the research suggests that frozen food temperatures could be changed from -18°C to -15°C to save the equivalent carbon dioxide emissions of 3.8 million cars per year.

Interested? Read more here.

Vale Victor Lago

It is with sadness that the RWTA acknowledges the passing of one of the ardent supporters of our Association and the Australian Cold Chain, Victor Lago.

Thanks to Murray Charters for this excerpt from the Eulogy and for the permission to share from Walter Lago.

Virginio Lago was born in Italy in 1931, making him 92 years of age.

Victor, as he chose to be known in Australia, was the eldest of six boys.

He only attended school until the 4th grade to help his mother on the farm as his father was away getting work wherever he could find it. Victor was 8 years old when World War II broke out in Europe, and 14 by the time the allies conquered the axis powers, leaving Italy broken and defeated.

There was very little opportunity in Italy post war, and Victor would have been old enough to witness the pain and suffering of the Italian people. He stayed working on the farm, to provide sustenance for his family, until he was 19 years old. He then decided to emigrate to Australia, where his Australian based Uncle had financed his journey, giving Vic an opportunity for a better life.

Victor arrived in Australia in 1950 after three months at sea. He had a push bike and ten pounds in his pocket, five pounds of that he had earned by peeling potatoes every day on the ship.

What made his future success in business even more remarkable, was the fact that when he arrived in Australia, he could not read, write or speak English and had a Grade 4 Primary School level of education.

Vic worked on his uncle’s farm living in a tin shed for two years. After paying back his uncle the fare to Australia, he moved on.

He undertook all manner of work for many years and married his young Italian wife Emma, with whom he fathered three sons, Robert, Walter and Roger.

In 1979 Victor was building his first cold store at Hemmant in Brisbane. Vic, aided by his sons Robert and Walter, built up what was considered to be the most successful, cleanest and well run coldstore operation in Australia.

Vic loved his three sons, and supported them financially, no matter what circumstances they found themselves embroiled in.

Vic was of a generation that favoured tough love, and he expected his sons to put up, shut up and work as hard as he did. He was hard on everybody, and the standards he set for Robert and Walter were particularly high; Roger being the youngest was afforded more leniency.

Vic was never in a rush, but he never stopped. No matter what the task, he would work tirelessly, not until the job was done, but until the job was done properly. He would arrive very early in the mornings, dressed in his old work clothes and boots, and the ever-present terry towelling hat, driving his old ford ute. Victor worked seven days a week, sometimes fourteen hours a day and longer for many years at Lago Coldstores.

There came a time, due to circumstances beyond his control, that with a heavy heart, he handed over the running of Lago Coldstores to his three sons, content in the knowledge that it would be good hands for the future.

Victor had no intention of retiring. All his working life, as he made money, he reinvested it in other real estate projects growing and accumulating a legacy for his three sons, his eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

He continued to work well into his late eighties, and he readily acknowledged that he could not have done it without the enormous amount of assistance from his loving partner Jean Neilson.

Victor became very ill over the last few years and was cared for lovingly by Jean in their home. Eventually the only option was a full-time care facility.                             

The continuous love and care he was afforded by Jean, Robert and Walter on rotation over the years made sure he was comfortable, safe, fed, cared for and loved right up to the point they were forced to say goodbye is something we can all admire.

We can only hope we are all lucky enough to have loved ones like that, to look after and comfort us, at the end of our own life’s journey.

Rest in peace Victor, secure in the knowledge that you passed on from this life, with nothing left in your tank, having ably and faithfully fulfilled your destiny as Patriarch of your family.

New Member Alert!: Smart Commercial Solar

We would like to welcome Smart Commercial Solar, new Member of the RWTA!

Smart Commercial Solar is Australia's leading commercial energy solutions provider.
They are dedicated to helping businesses achieve energy independence through innovative renewable energy solutions, including commercial solar, battery storage, solar car shades and more.

Since 2012, they have worked with multiple RWTA Members over 40 more logistics brands to drive business improvements, save substantially on energy expenditure and drive down emissions.

We know that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to solar energy, which is why it’s their mission to understand your company’s unique needs, business goals and investment criteria to deliver the best outcome possible.

From analysis and feasibility through to construction and ongoing support, they're at your service to ensure your business gets the most from its solar investment.

Interested to know more?
Call Jon Vlatko, Chief Sales Officer

E: jon@smartcommercialsolar.com.au
T: +612 9057 9710 | Ext: 105
D: +612 9057 9715

The Adelaide RWTA Golf Day - 12th Feb 2024 at Kooyonga Golf Club

The Adelaide RWTA Golf Day will be on the Monday 12th February 2024 at Kooyonga Golf Club

This is a great opportunity to network with other professionals from the Cold Chain Industry. Enjoy a round of golf in a beautiful setting, and win some amazing prizes!

New Member Alert!: Cold Origin has Space in NSW now!

Cold Origin understands that every customer’s business has unique cold chain logistics requirements. Their tailored services are designed with your needs in mind. No matter the scale of operations, their flexible approach allows them to cater to businesses of all sizes.

Whether the requirement is specialized storage facilities for perishable goods, pharmaceuticals, quarantine services, or reliable transportation, Cold Origin have their customers covered.

Their team collaborate closely to devise personalized strategies that enhance efficiency while minimizing costs.

Cold Origin's in-house transport division connects the eastern seaboard, every day of the week, to the network of Cold Storage in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and the ACT . This ensures seamless operational capabilities for your business. The Cold Origin Team is constantly exploring ways to cater to multiple requirements, allowing customers to focus on expanding their business while they handle supply chain needs, from start to finish.

Cold Origin has space available immediately in Ebenezer, NSW:

• 600 frozen pallet space

• 800 Chiller pallet

• 2000 Ambient space 

Call Shaz Rahman direct on 0410 03 22 95
or email him at shaz@polarkool.com.au
www.coldorigin.com.au
412 Stannix Park Road
Ebenezer NSW 2756

The NSW Golf Day is on 1st March - BOOK NOW

The NSW Golf Day is being held on the Friday 1st March 2024 at Strathfield Golf Club
This is a great opportunity to network with other Cold Chain professionals, enjoy a friendly competition and have some fun on the green. 

Join us for a memorable day of golf - all levels welcome!

RWTA Supporting the Cold Chain In Queensland; Cross River Rail

The Story

The Issue: There is significant concern regarding a proposed three-week disruption to the rail network as part of the Queensland Rail Cross River Rail Project in January 2024.

The Situation: Consumables and goods are delivered daily to northern Queensland, while fresh locally grown produce is transported out of Far North Queensland to the rest of Australia. There will be serious disruptions to deliveries.

The Impact: As a service that relies on the efficient operation of the rail network, there will be detrimental impacts on environmental health, safety and wellbeing of our communities across northern Queensland.

The timing of the proposed disruption further compounds potential impacts of the closure due to the January holiday period which is traditionally a time of high demand across supply chains.

To ensure continuity of service throughout the proposed closure period, heavy vehicles would need to be deployed to replace the containers that are normally transported via rail.

To support the logistics freight requirements of the region, more than 1,500 B-double trucks would be required to replace the rail services over the three-week period.

The industry simply does not have the vehicular infrastructure to support the deployment of an additional 1,500+ trucks required to replace freight.

Even with the most robust business continuity systems in place, it would be impossible to provide enough services to major retailers in the region and beyond. The disruption will likely result in scenarios reminiscent of the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic with empty shelves and potential panic buying.

In addition there will be environmental, health and safety issues putting that many trucks on the road network during a peak holiday travel period due to:

• Increased heavy vehicle traffic on thoroughfares already experiencing increased traffic due to holiday makers.

• Increased wear and tear of additional heavy vehicles on roads.

• Increased environmental impacts of having 1,500 additional heavy vehicles on the road.

• Likelihood of significant grocery shortages across Far North Queensland.

• Increased cost of goods due to contingency road freight costing suppliers 200% more than equivalent service via rail.

Proposed Solution: An alternative solution would be for QR/ TMR reconsider the duration of rail shutdown and consider viable maintenance alternatives, for example shorter shutdowns but with increased frequency to allow for efficient business continuity planning with increased loads and runs to prepare for shutdowns.The RWTA has requested that there be further consultation with Industry throughout this process, and implore Queensland Rail to consider alternative solutions. 

Marianne Kintzel was interviewed yesterday on 4BC Radio. Click below to listen.

Brisbane rail disruptions will require more buses, trucks over summer

Extended closures are required to reconfigure tracks to allow Cross River Rail to bolster the network.

While buses will again be used to ferry passengers, Queensland Rail is having to build a new transfer facility at Pinkenba to limit intermodal freight disruptions.

“The track closures scheduled for January will allow Cross River Rail to undertake critical track and civil works between Bowen Hills and Albion, including flood mitigation works such as track raising which goes towards preventing future freight interruptions,” a Queensland Rail spokeswoman said.

Marianne Kintzel from the Refrigerated Warehouse and Transport Association told 4BC on Thursday the disruptions could cause price hikes and food shortages in regional areas.

Kintzel said the Pinkenba workaround would only support 25 per cent of the freight and double the cost of transport.

Launch of the new Americold site at Ormeau QLD

Honoured to have been invited to the launch of the new Americold site at Ormeau in Queensland this week, Marianne is speaking with Andrew Mates about expansion.  

This is facility number 6 in their Queensland network which is a growth area for the company.  

Andrew speaks about their new site in Spearwood in WA that went live this October; the capacity for this site is 20,000 + and Ormeau is 11,000 adding more than 31,000 pallet capacity in 2023 and they are looking to add another 40,000 in the year ahead.

Great to see the cold chain successfully expanding  and congratulations Americold!

Watch the interview:

RWTA New Member Alert! Welcome PHS Innovate

We would like to welcome PHS Innovate as a New Member of the RWTA!

Is your Refrigerated Warehouse Future-Proofed?

If you are interested in exploring the benefits of warehouse automation technology for your cold chain operations, PHS Innovate is here to help. With a wealth of experience in this field, their team is ready to assist you in revolutionizing your operations, enhancing efficiency, and ensuring the highest quality standards. Contact them today to start the conversation about how automation can transform your cold chain business.

Unlock the Future of Cold Chain Automation with PHS Innovate.

PHS Innovate has a reputation for supplying innovative and cutting-edge Automated Package Handling Systems for a diverse range of industry types throughout the Australasian Markets for more than 67 years. 

Their product range covers everything from bulk container depalletization to packaged product palletization to fully automated warehouse storage and retrieval systems, designed and manufactured by PHS Innovate. Their Engineering Team consists of mechanical, electrical, software design, installation, commissioning, training and post-project service and support professionals.

Since 2011 PHS Innovate has supplied automated warehousing solutions in collaboration with their partner Automha, a global leader in Warehouse Automation Solutions. Cool Storage is a very challenging and demanding environment in which PHS Innovate has particular experience, providing both semi and fully-automated systems.

For more information please contact:

Manny Roth
Sales Manager
0415 747 373
Sales@PHSInnovate.com

RWTA New Member Alert! Welcome Scully RSV

Scully RSV is a national refrigerated transport supplier, offering hire, sales and service to the cold chain through their branch network right across Australia.

Their refrigerated transport solutions:

• Flexible terms across short- and long-term hire and the ability to move between models as market demands change.

• Buy new, ex fleet or let them build to your specifications.  

• Branches around the country form Perth to Townsville and right down the Australian east coast. 

Over 30 years of servicing the cold chain and the Australian refrigerated transport community:

• Longstanding partnerships with industry leading OEMs unlocking the latest in technology, safety and vehicle performance for their customers.

• The largest dedicated fleet of refrigerated vehicles in Australia, available where and when customers need them.   

• Scully RSV has a team of skilled tradespeople who manufacture refrigerated utes, trucks and truck bodies out of their 1,200 sq m production facility in Brisbane.

• They invest directly into their transport communities through social impact programs such as TIACS and OzHarvest.

Backed by a team of refrigerated transport specialists with decades of experience in the refrigerated transport industry, the team at Scully RSV are proud to service the Australian cold chain.

www.scullyrsv.com.au