New cold storage facility in Cape

The 3000-ton cold storage facility is situated on two new properties next door to the Parmalat facility, which OCS purchased in 2009. It has a fully mobile racking system, which was an initial significant cost, but the system requires only one aisle in each section of the cold store - almost doubling the storage capacity, and reducing the cooling costs per pallet.

The company decided on the UK Storax System installed by Barpro in South Africa. "I have visited cold stores all over the world and have been planning this store for the past 20 years. I have yet to find a mobile solution that can come close," says OCS MD, Patrick Gaertner.

Local contractors, international experience

OCS contacted various potential service providers to provide a complete solution that would include all aspects of the build, including conceptual drawings, civil / building works, structural steel works, insulated panel works and all associated services: electrical reticulation, fire protection, lighting and water.

GEA Project Solutions, a division of GEA Refrigeration Africa who are global leaders in refrigeration solutions, were selected to manage the project. It is primarily focused on providing complete design and project management solutions for projects which have refrigeration as part of their primary process.

Group effort

Orion Building is also the corporate head office to other companies within the group, including Gaertner Exporters, Pateca and Superwatt.

Pateca, an importer of steel and building materials sourced the steel used in the manufacture of the cold store panels, ensuring that the material used would stand up to the harsh Cape coastal climatic conditions.

Drawing on the expertise of Superwatt, a leading supplier of back-up power solutions, the new cold store has installed Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) to each of its screw compressors (including the backup compressor), which should reduce electricity consumption by 30-45% and the entire premises is backed up by a UK Perkins generator.

"The electricity crisis was very high on our planning agenda," says Gaertner. "The company has been heavily involved in the whole process. Not only have we installed the VFDs and mobile racking to bring down the per pallet storage cost, but backup plans are also taken care of through the standby generator in the event of a power outage, and a spare screw compressor in the event of any equipment failure."

Spare storage space

The company intends to use approximately 50% of the store for its own requirements and will make storage space available to existing clients. The group is currently negotiating with possible anchor tenants for bulk storage requirements. "With cold storage space at a premium, the interest has been overwhelming. After more than 20 years in the business we know just how important it is to be able to offer clients prompt access to their stock, short turn-around periods and an efficient and professional service," adds Rory Klemp, a director of Orion.