warehouse operating

James Cunningham was recently interviewed by Ilana Koegelenberg, Editor of Interact Media to discuss the evolution of cold stores in South Africa and how they can react positively to the energy crises. Other important topics were also discussed – how to increase the efficiency of stores and cold store workers and that age old question, mobile racking vs. drive-in racking? “Cold stores are on the rise in South Africa as chilled and frozen food become increasingly popular. What is the best racking solution for the cold store of today? The demands for efficient material handling, product logistics, optimal use of space, and maximum flexibility in locating, storing and retrieving of stock, are continuously pushing warehousing solutions toward new frontiers. The rise of the cold store The cold store industry in South Africa only really took off in the 2000s, explains James Cunningham, Managing Director of Barpro Storage SA. “There were cold stores before but the market for frozen food in this country was restricted to exports and a very small affluent portion of society.” After about 2000, the need for frozen vegetables and chicken started to rise and it is still climbing. Previously the issue was that a large portion of the population didn’t have fridges and freezers in their homes, so were unable to store frozen/chilled products. But as more people gained access to electricity, the need for temperature sensitive perishables (and thus cold stores) grew and is still growing. “There always was cold storage but the quantity of commercial cold storage has increased dramatically,” confirms Cunningham. Another driver for the increase on cold stores was the fact that the diet of the lower income population has changed, and the consumption of frozen vegetables and chicken is on the rise. “Although it may have peaked off currently because we’re amidst a recession, that is only temporary,” says Cunningham. The same is true for the rest of Africa. But tinned food is still very popular because a large portion of Africa’s population does not have access to refrigeration. (Apparently you can even buy butter and margarine in tins in some countries!) “We’re actually looking at a revolution in eating habits, which has driven cold storage construction,” says Cunningham.” Click Here for the full article [gravityform id=”10″ title=”true” description=”true”]