So who wants to marry a cold store manager who lives in the cold continuously?… (with apologies to the song I want to marry a lighthouse keeper) seriously, apart from those in the cold chain Industry, who knows how a cold store manager occupies his days? How many realize that without cold store managers, large conurbations could not exist? As long as their stores function and don’t burn down or let off ammonia gas, cold store managers are of little interest to the general public, when as guardians of our collective food supply, they definitely should be.
To rectify this social injustice, our newsletter intends to publish monthly profiles of such hardy individuals who have quietly managed our food supply for years in sub-zero conditions.
Ajay Kalan
After completing a management course, doing rep work for a short period Ajay joined County Fair Chickens in Epping, Cape Town as a cold store receiving clerk back in 1991, and worked up the ranks. First as receiving clerk, invoice clerk, Department Head and then Cold Store Manager. His current position is that of Logistics Efficiencies Manager for the Astral Commercial Division. In this position Ajay has the added responsibilities of the Festive and Goldi facilities in Mpumalanga and Gauteng to ensure best practices are implemented and standardization is applied across warehouses. Ajay has taken part in the Astral Pinnacle studies which was started by Astral CEO MR Chris Schutte and successfully completed Potchefstroom University’s NQF 6 and 7 management qualifications. Ajay believes in setting standards and applying best practices to his operations, and, like all business leaders, is always up for a new challenge.
When he is not busy at work, Ajay enjoys spending quality time with his close knit and hugely supportive family. Ajay enjoys gardening and keeps both koi and marine reef fish.