Flexible cold store for dynamic capacity requirements

With increasing throughput (qty of animals), size of animals (resulting in more cartons per animal being produced), increased China supply, and their demand for frozen over chilled, and customers wanting a larger mix of product types (JBS has around 10,000 different products) that take a longer time to fulfil, existing cold stores are being pushed to their capacity limits. There are some orders where JBS needs to fill a container from multiple days of production and whilst this can easily be done within a standard cold store, with cold store capacities being fuller more than ever, processors are having to resort to loading containers in yards. Although this is an acceptable practice from DAFF, if the container is opened more than once for loading, then the loading ‘facility’ must comply with the Protocol for Use of Shipping Containers on -plant Storage and Profess Loading (Meat Notice 2001/01). In essence this means that a container in a year cannot be used to consign a multi door opening loading consignment. To address this problem, JBS needs to expand its cold store facilities which often come with the expense, and complications of dealing with Stage departments for development approvals, and substantial construction (including footing) costs. This project will develop an alternative that is: - Scaleable (hence can increase capacity by a single ‘dock’ at a time) - Portable (and hence does not need a DA) - More cost effective that extending an existing cold store - DAFF compliant. - Can be multi-stacked on (or off site) when not in use As well as providing additional storage on site at the plant, the successful development of portable roll in/roll out cold storage provides an option for processors who currently use independent cold stores to increase their own storage capacity on site.