Uncategorized

The Tony Lewis Award

Blog Competitions, General Interest, Uncategorized /

Following 2014’s successful Peter Worthington-Smith Award won by Ivan Sutic of Chilleweni Cold Storage, it has been decided to honour another “Great” in the local refrigeration industry for 2015 -Tony Lewis. Tony began working at Irvin & Johnson Ltd as the local production manager in 1957 after spending 7 years at the Fishing Industry Research Institute where he worked under the direction of Dr Dreosti and completed various research projects. During his years at Irvin & Johnson Ltd and after his retirement in 1985, Tony served on many influential committees due to his knowledge and experience in the fishing, food and refrigeration industries. These included: Member of Board of Control of FIRI (Fishing Industry Research Institute) For many years he was the SA Fishing Industry’s Technical Adviser to the SA Bureau of Standard’s delegation at Codex Alimentarius Committee on Fish and Fishery Products. Member of IIR (International Institute of Refrigeration) working party which revised the IIR “Red Book” – (Recommendations for the Processing and Handling of Frozen Foods.) Member of Food Technology Commission at the IIR. Advisory board member at the International Journal of Refrigeration. Member of RSA Liaison Committee for the IIR. Member of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Group of the Washington based International Frozen Food Association. Member of numerous SABS Committees on Food Standards and Codes of Practice. Member of Department of Health’s Food Legislation Advisory Group as from 1988. During his time as Irvin & Johnson Ltd’s Group Transport Manager, Tony was part of the team which introduced refrigerated GRP bodies leading to I & J becoming a large operator of refrigerated vehicles. Entrants into the Tony Lewis Award should match the following criteria:  Currently employed in  cold or freezer stores in Africa Under the age of 35 years on 1st April 2015 Have worked within the Cold Storage Industry for more than 3 years Have insight of their company’s strategic plan Have a broad knowledge of the African cold storage industry Cold store where currently employed has a pallet capacity of 500 pallets or more Entry forms available from: John Ackermann at SARDA Email: jasac@iafrica.com Tel:  021 551 5076 Or Danielle Manuel at Barpro Storage SA Email: danielle@barpro.co.za Tel: 021 5529190 Entries close on Friday 20 November. Initially entrants will be judged on the basis of written applications. Finalists will travel to Cape Town (expenses paid) in December 2015 for the final judging. The winner will attend the 2016 Global Cold Chain Alliance Convention in the USA in April 2016 (expenses paid) and will make a presentation to the 700+ delegates.

The Tony Lewis Award Read More »

How to prevent cold store panel damage

Construction, General Interest, Materials Handling Equipment, Mobile Racking, Other Products, Safety, Uncategorized /

Prevent cold store panel damage- We recently received a query on how to fix up scratches and dents to paneling in a cold store. The answers are quite simple. If the scratches, bumps or perforations are on the outside of the store, a bit of filler could repair the outside panel skin and a local car panel spray painter could match the colour. If it is in the freezer, then it would be better to cover any deep impacts or perforations with a chromadek patch (available from Intastor, Cape Town).  If it is just a scratch, the panel shop should be able to assist with a spray but it’s not recommended as the additives will stay in the store.  Some touch up paint would be safer.  However do a little at a time as you don’t want a smell from the paint lingering. The best way to prevent damage to the inside panels of cold stores is to ensure kerbs have been included as part of your cold store design.   Two different design options for kerbs Read more – What are some of the issues we need to consider when building a new cold or freezer store? Read more – Would you like to reduce energy usage in your freezer store? Read more – Barpro helps Etlin International with their recent maintenance project in Durban

How to prevent cold store panel damage Read More »

Price vs. Value

Energy Savings, General Interest, Maintenance, Mobile Racking, Other Products, Retrofitting, Safety, Uncategorized /

“There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that person’s lawful prey” – These words have been widely used in recent decades, and are usually attributed to nineteenth century thinker John Ruskin. (although there is no evidence to suggest he ever said it). An expanded version goes on to say: “It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money – that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot – it can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you would have had enough to pay for something better.” This basic rule should be common sense, but surprisingly often isn’t.  Mankind is at heart a race of bargain hunters.  We shop around in hopes of paying less, and usually finish up getting less.  Purveyors of cheap goods and services bend over backwards to avoid the terminology ‘cheap’, since the obvious connotation is ‘nasty’.  So they say ‘lower price’, or ‘inexpensive’ . . . but what they mean is ‘cheaper’.  And what you mostly get is less value. How does ‘cheap’ relate to value? Usually negatively. In economic terms value is the monetary worth of something, and ‘worth’ in turn can be measured in many ways.  A product or service that well performs the function for which it was designed, reliably and demonstrably long-term, will always contain more worth, or value, than that which is designed from the outset to cost less – but probably not perform so well, or last so long. Nowhere is the foregoing more true than in the case of mobile racking. Barpro SA prides itself in providing genuine value-for-money with its offering, and after more than twenty years and well over 200 STORAX systems in South Africa alone – most of which are still functioning as well as the day they were commissioned  – Barpro SA has an enviable and unequalled track record of designing and installing durable systems, and boasts a multitude of satisfied customers. If someone claims the ability to provide equivalent systems , but cheaper – beware and re-read the above.   Remember the rule of thumb is that “you get what you pay for”.

Price vs. Value Read More »