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In the cold storage industry, total product volume increases as the business grows, requiring more storage space. Soutpansberg Koelkamers in Louis Trichardt identified that their warehouse storage capacity must increase to support operational requirements. Barpro Storage designed a solution with this in mind. Barpro spoke to Riaan Smit and Inus Steyn from Soutpansberg Koelkamers about the journey to a bigger freezer store. Background: Soutpansberg Koelkamers was established November 2nd in 1992 and has been trading for 30 years. It is based near the Soutpansberg Mountain range in Limpopo.  Soutpansberg Koelkamers are part of the BJ GROUP that, amongst other business interests, operates 9 other freezer stores. Interview: You made a large investment in a cold store. Where did the need for this come from? We had outgrown our previous facility and needed to expand holding capacities. Once you knew you required a new freezer store. How did you decide on the type of racking system? We needed to think about our expansion not only for our immediate needs but also for future requirements. Mobile racking and the design of our cold room played a big role in this decision. Was your decision to invest in rails and mobile ready static racking your biggest decision? Yes, we invested in a single cold room as opposed to multiple smaller cold-rooms. The option of adding mobiles in the future made sense. Rails & mobile ready racking was the best we option for our new cold room. When we eventually add the mobile racking, we will increase the holding capacity by +- 80%. How did you know about Barpro? What was your reason for selecting Barpro as your Mobile Racking Service Provider for this project? Pongola Cold Storage, one of the 9 freezer stores in the group did a similar upgrade of their facilities 4 years ago. Based on their experience, after sales service, and benefits; it only made business sense to partner up with a company we already have dealt with. Did the project go the way you expected? As with all projects of this scale you would always have a snag here and there, but overall, we are very satisfied. What is the next stage for the freezer store? The next phase is to add the mobile racking in the near future. Were you happy with the service you received from Barpro? Yes, the service and overall interaction was very professional. You are using some interesting technology on your cold store, solar panels, real time digital temperature data from your heater mat / soil subfloor directly to your mobile and more. Do you care to share some of this with our readers? Yes, we started our infrastructure upgrade in October 2020 with a 200 kw Solar roof top installation. We took necessary precautions with the design of the floor. We wanted to ensure that we do not encounter any loss of efficiency challenges in the long run. One of the precautions was to install a heater mat below the floor insulation to avoid any chance of frost heave. In closing. No doubt there are challenges, but what is your feeling around the Cold Storage Supply Chain in your region. To our knowledge, Soutpansberg is the only commercially sized Cold store so far north in Limpopo. Special thanks to Soutpansberg Koelkamers for the interview. If you wish to know more about the freezer store and the establishment, you can contact: Riaan Smit Soutpansberg Koelkamers -18 Joubert Street Louis Trichardt 015 516 1087 riaan@spbk.co.za

This project was executed by CAPEX Projects who managed the design process and coordinated the design meetings for the newly constructed freezer store of DC Meat Wholesalers. DC Meat required additional space within their existing freezer facility which had 850 pallet allocations of fixed racking within 675 m² floor space. DC Meat has 16 retail stores within the Western Cape and a freezer store that operates at -25˚C. The distribution teams deliver on average 500 000 kg of fresh and frozen products per week. DC is known as a wholesaler that imports and exports a variety of meat products. As part of their upgrade and expansion planning, a larger facility had to be reconstructed to accommodate increased production levels. PROJECT REQUIREMENTS Each appointed supplier had key responsibilities by which Barpro Storage had the responsibility of installing the rails and mobile racking system. The key deliverables of the project in its entirety were: Refrigeration Insulation, Pods, Freezer door, Fire installations Freezer floor & repairs to receiving floor & structural aspects Racking & Rails Warehouse management systems and Security THE MOBILE RACKING SYSTEM – BARPRO STORAGE SA Barpro’s approach was to provide a system with a 2 phased process Phase 1: Installation of rails & support stools Phase 2: 4 Mobile bases with wooden bumper protection The 4 bases have individual control. The mobile bases were installed at operational temperatures to prevent disruption to DC Meats’ daily activities. Individual Control System which is a straightforward system that allows each mobile rack to be moved independently of the other mobile racks in a zone. Each rack can be moved left or right with a single press of the push buttons mounted on the front of each mobile rack.  Total current storage capacity of 1130 pallet locations on Barpro mobiles THE RACKING – UNIVERSAL STORAGE SYSTEMS Universal’s Racking Superstructure is mounted on top of the Barpro mobile bases. The structure consists of frame load and base beams. CONCLUSION During the construction period the programme had to be amended to accommodate all parties, but the changes did not affect Barpro and Universal from completing and successful install rails, mobiles and racking system in short order. The completed works were signed off and approved by the project managers of CAPEX projects and Mr Roberto Leao of DC Meat. The freezer store is fully operational. COMPLETE INSTALLATION: Phase 1: Lining & leveling of ground rails – 13 September 2021 Phase 2: Installation of Bases & Electrics – 15 December 2021 The Racking Superstructure was completed simultaneously with the bases & electrics