The cold chain is the network of specialist facilities and vehicles which store perishable goods in a secure temperature-controlled environment. In recent years the people and businesses that manage the UK’s cold chain have proved just how vitally important they are. From the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, and through every stage since, these businesses have kept our food industry going and our vaccines delivered when much of the rest of the economy shut down. The Journey Towards Emission Free Temperature-controlled Distribution on Road Vehicles is the Cold Chain Federation’s vision for how transport refrigeration units (TRUs) can transition away from diesel, to emission free alternatives in line with the UK’s decarbonisation and air quality targets. It sets out the Federation’s view on the technological outlook for TRUs, how operators and manufacturers will adapt to drive down emissions and finally the financial, infrastructural and regulatory support which will be required to enable the industry to meet its ambitious targets.
This article was first published in the November 15th 2022 issue of Warehouse & Logistics News, subscribe to the magazine by clicking here.
Some of the fastest cooler and freezer doors available, such as Rite-Hite’s FasTrax FR, travel at up to 2.5m/sec to restrict warm air flows into and around freezers and help maintain the mandated storage temperatures for food or pharmaceuticals. They can create energy savings of up to €9,500 per year per opening. Customised curtain walls such as the R-4 InsulMax insulated curtain are explicitly designed for blast freezers, providing a safe and affordable airflow and thermal barrier to prevent frost build-up and temperature fluctuations and so reduce energy bills.
The Klimate K2 High Speed Freezer Door, from BID Group, is a heavy duty, robust door designed and manufactured in the UK to meet the rigorous demands of working in a freezer environment, such as temperature controlled factories and warehouses that contain products that must be chilled. The Klimate K2 is incredibly versatile as it can be installed on either the chilled, ambient or freezer side of the opening, depending on which you choose. The door’s operation speed is as quick as 1.5 m/s, minimising delays in operations and reducing unnecessary downtime.
Europe’s largest ‘deep freeze’, on former steelworks land in Corby, is very near completion. Automated cold storage specialist, NewCold, started work on the development in late 2020 to meet growing demand from the food manufacturing sector. When fully operational the site will employ more than 250 people, but industry-leading automation will play a key part in the facility’s operation for NewCold, which has headquarters in the Netherlands and operates from fourteen locations on three continents.
A leading cold storage hire specialist has enhanced its out-of-hours support for customers, thanks to a new partnership with TNS 365. Blue Cube (PCS) Ltd supplies UK-built, eco-friendly, portable cold storage and blast chiller or freezer units to the food industry, pharmaceutical sector and others.
As the cold chain grows, let’s hope it can successfully transition to emission free alternatives to diesel.
George Simpson
Features Editor
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