COLDSTORAGE
Expertise key to a coldstorage and food build Australia’s coldstorage supply chain is becoming more important as Australian products become more coveted, which is why it is imperative to have a facility built to the right specifications. Mike Wheeler explains.
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t the Global Food Forum in Sydney last year, nonexecutive director of brewing giant Lion, Sir Rod Eddington, pointed out that in order for Australia to have a vibrant food and beverage export sector, it needed a good cold store supply chain. The need for good cold store supply chain is one thing, but that isn’t possible if the facilities that store cold foodstuffs are not up to scratch. This is not lost on Paul Brady, director of Paul Brady Building Group (PBBG), specialists in coldstorage builds. Having been in the building industry for the best part of 30 years, the last 25 building food and coldstorage facilities, Brady knows how important it is to get it right. And it was 20 years ago that he decided that these builds would be his specialty. “We specialise in temperaturecontrolled hygienic environments, which means we understand
refrigeration, scale, production, storage, energy outputs and efficiencies and logistics” he said. “We provide all the specialist and necessary expertise and services to build food and cold storage facilities.” One such build the company recently completed was for Ash Bros Food Services, based in Sunshine West in Melbourne. A company that has been around for 50 years, Ash Bros felt the march of progress when the Victorian government gave the go-ahead for the West Gate Tunnel project, which meant the Ash Bros premises in Yarraville had to make way for the new piece of infrastructure. It wasn’t a case of just finding an existing warehouse to fit out, there were other factors Ash Bros had to look into, such as servicing clients, as well as staffing considerations. “It took a while to find the right property, but one was found that was going to work,” said Brady. “We started
18 Food&Beverage Industry News | July 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au
design in November, and we managed to get it completed in April with certificate of occupancy and Primesafe accreditation.” But there were a few hiccups along the way. First, to get any type of fit out
completed in such a short time takes a lot of effort and co-ordination. Add in progamming building works through the Christmas and holiday period, COVID-19 restrictions, and deadline constraints in terms of Ash Bros
There is more to a coldstorage and food processing facility than just keeping produce cool.
