cold store

The Inside Scoop on Ranger

cold store, General Interest, Pallet Racking, palletised goods, Pallets, Ranger shuttle, Uncategorized, Warehousing /

As everyone who reads our newsletter will know, we at Barpro SA have taken the decision to add Storax/Ramada’s very successful Ranger radio shuttle system to our high-density storage solutions as a fast and efficient alternative to more traditional systems such as drive-in, gravity, push-back, and even, in some cases, mobiles.   Because of our relative inexperience with this technologically sophisticated system, I, as Barpro’s resident ‘racking expert’, was despatched on a week-long fact-finding/information- gathering/training mission to Europe towards the end of June this year.   Storax’s main production facility of this equipment for the whole European market is situated a few miles outside Liege, on the eastern, French speaking, side of Belgium; but while my limited French was of some occasional value, it was mostly just a cause for amusement amongst the locals – nearly all of whom speak pretty good English. I was graciously hosted, along with other delegates from UK, France, and Portugal, by Storax management and team, all of whom take great pride in their product, and its success.   At the factory I was able to observe the Ranger being manufactured, assembled, and tested; and received valuable insight regarding the technological advances Storax have made that put this machine ahead most others previously available on the market. I also received intensive training in the context of the hardware, software, controls, etc. that make this such a potentially versatile and effective solution.   An important part of the induction program was the visiting of customer sites where the Ranger has been successfully installed and is fully operational, and these visits were real eye-openers – from huge frozen vegetable stores (25,000+ pallets, largely chips, which the Belgians call ‘frites’ and serve traditionally with mussels) to agricultural chemicals, to mechanical and electronic components and finished goods. I was greatly impressed by seeing the system actually in operation by highly-satisfied customers who often seem to wonder how they managed before.   One site I visited, across the border in the Netherlands (where the language Is uncannily similar to Afrikaans), I spent some hours in a huge freezer, still under construction, where a new Ranger system was in the process of installation. I was able to observe the construction techniques of the specialised racking required to accommodate the Ranger, work with the highly-skilled installation teams, and even observe the commissioning of a Ranger through to its testing and ‘initialisation’ – a process whereby the machine ‘learns’ the parameters of the system into which it has been placed.   As a measure of Ranger’s success, there are already several hundred units in use across Europe, and Storax employ no fewer than 14 full-time skilled and experienced installation teams to keep pace with the demand.     At the end of the visit I came away thoroughly impressed, and equipped with the greater knowledge needed to offer our customers an even more comprehensive level of advice on their various storage requirements.   For more information contact us today! [gravityform id=”10″ title=”true” description=”true”]

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Increasing your pallet load? Read this first

Increasing your pallet load? Read this first

cold store, Freezer store, General Interest, Maintenance, Mobile Racking, News, pallet rack collapse, Pallet Racking, palletised goods, Pallets, Rack Safety, Safety, Static Racking, Tips /

Twenty years ago one of the deciduous fruit packing giants in the Western Cape was the first in their industry to realise the advantages of mobile racking, and commissioned a Barpro Storax mobile system into their new holding store. This chill room was approx. 1360 sq. metres, and accommodated over 2500 pallet loads – nearly double what would have been achieved with conventional racking. The load specifications at that time called for 1000kg per pallet.   However, with success in the export market ever improving, the use of Hi-Cube pallets became the norm, and these now weighed 1200kg – even more for some fruits, such as pears. So as their needs expanded, some 10 years later they constructed another, adjacent, holding room, and specified mobile racking again; this time the design requirement increased to 1200kg. The system was engineered accordingly and this store was duly installed and put into full use.     Initially the new store was used for export product, while the earlier installation was dedicated mainly to local markets. However, it gradually became apparent that more and more export pallets were being placed into the ‘old’ store, and management realised with commendable diligence that the system should be checked for suitability for the increased loadings. The original rack supplier was called in, and on inspection declared, as suspected, that the rack was being dangerously overloaded by the new 1200kg loads. The entire rack system was accordingly re-configured using heavier-duty frames reinforced for the additional load.   However, continuing the justifiable concern and again exercising initiative and being admirably proactive, the customer this year approached Barpro with the information about the changes in usage, querying whether the actual mobile base units were of sufficient strength for the changed usage.   Always concerned with customer support, Barpro promptly sent Alan Moule, their in-house rack specialist, to inspect and check the system. He found that the racking was now, after re-configuration, very capable of carrying the heavier loading, but the mobile bases were perhaps a different story. When a mobile base is designed, it is purpose-engineered according to the loads – in this case 1000kg per pallet – and this is reflected in size and number of wheels, height of base, number of drive-motors, etc. Barpro had checked the original design with their engineers in Europe and confirmed that 1200kg pallets would, technically, be now over-loading the bases. However, Alan’s visual inspection revealed no noticeable signs of deflection or distortion of the structures, and the customer assured him, and demonstrated, that the bases displayed no problem in movement or operation under full load.   The customer was advised that although the system was being technically over-loaded, as long as the system continued to function adequately it should not be necessary to re-build or replace the bases (a very costly exercise) and that the system could carry on in use. It was advised however, that inspections should occur more frequently, and any sign of deterioration should be reported immediately.   Users of any racking system are always advised never to change or adjust loads, beam levels, or any other criteria without consulting the original supplier, since this can at best affect the operation of the system, and at worst can lead to catastrophic collapse.     It was gratifying to Barpro that a customer had the presence of mind to take this advice seriously. Contact us if you have mobile racking and plan on increasing your pallet weights [gravityform id=”6″ title=”true” description=”true”]

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Reduce energy in your cold storage facility

Southern Cold Storage WINS at reducing operating costs!

cold store, Construction, Energy Savings, Freezer store, General Interest, Mobile Racking, News, Tips, Uncategorized /

Southern Cold Storage in Wadeville Johannesburg has been running now for almost two years.  The brief given to the contractor / owner technical design team comprising of engineers from Lutz Refrigeration on the coldroom design and Barpro Storage on the materials handling and racking to provide the most Capex and Opex efficient freezer storage facility.  This enables Southern Cold Storage to rent out pallet space within the store to clients with the least business start-up cost while paying the minimum on running costs. The iterative design involved revenue modelling play offs against start up costs with this design eventually being settled upon.   The basic layout was determined by the land available with a view to storing as many pallets as possible in the available envelope thereby optimising rental revenue.  To achieve this, Barpro mobile racks were used wherever possible with a small contingent of stationery racks to allow for some flexibility with picking being allowed for if required.  The end result is that this facility can hold 3650 pallets within its roughly 25 000 Cubic metre volume.   A few of the innovations employed to reduce running costs include: 250 kW water cooled multiplex refrigeration plant Cooling tower fans, variable speed driven. Stepper type electronic expansion valves to accurately control suction pressures and prevent liquid flood over under dangerous conditions. The airlock leading to the freezer is dehumidified down to as low as 20% humidity via a Bry Air chemical dehumidifier. All compressors have ABB soft starters to reduce peak kVA draw under startup. Power factor correction system Solar panels on the roof providing up to 70% of instantaneous power usage     All of the above mechanical and electrical innovations certainly help to reduce running costs on the facility considerably as made evident by Uwe Schmidthaus the owner/manager at the facility who compares this facility with his other business Cool Runners which distributes various frozen products in Johannesburg.  Cool Runners has a storage capacity with static racking of 950 pallets in comparison with Southern’s mobile racking approach holding 3 650 pallets.   Uwe points out that in February 2017 Southern Cold Storage only used 80 000 kW-hr in comparison with Cool Runners using roughly 75 000 kW-hr in the same month, making Southern 3.6 times more energy efficient per pallet. This gives Southern Cold Storage a great competitive edge as electrical tariffs keep on climbing.   For more information on reducing energy in your cold storage facility contact Kevin Walter on 011 474 2022 or 083 564 2384 kevinw@lutzrefrigeration.co.za   [gravityform id=”10″ title=”true” description=”true”]

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