| 11 Manawatu Cold Storage LOGISTICS T T Kim Newth Mancold scales up services in Manawatū Mancold, has stepped up another gear following the grand opening of its new freezer complex last November. Manawatu Cold Storage, locally known as Mancold, has stepped up another gear following the grand opening of its new freezer complex last November. Manawatū Mayor Michael Ford and Mancold General Manager Brent Cawthray were proud to cut the ribbon on the new facilities that further strengthen the local primary production supply chain. “Around 60 people attended on the day,” says Brent. “It was wonderful to celebrate the occasion with the Mayor, our clients and everyone involved in the project - in particular, Humphries Construction, whose team did an absolutely stellar job. In my opinion, they’re the top builder in Manawatu.” The large-scale freezer complex, designed to keep pace with strong demand for frozen storage in the district, underlines Mancold’s dedication to providing a service that’s second to none. Boasting a sustainable design that includes rooftop solar and high-performance refrigerants, the complex adds six new blast freezers (or an extra 168 metric tonnes of capacity), 1350sqm of frozen product storage, 1100sqm for sorting and loading as well as new office and administration facilities. Mancold also invested in new forklifts and plant to support the increased capacity. Mancold barely skipped a beat after the opening, with operations in the new building rapidly getting underway without a hitch. “We’ve been busy from day one. Essentially, we built this new complex for Alliance Levin to take their beef and lamb product and it’s now serving that purpose.” There have been multiple spin-offs for the local economy and job market. Mancold has grown its workforce from around 45 staff to around 75 to 90 at peak. The new employees include eight school leavers and there’s a good number of keen rugby players in the mix too. Brent says it’s a long running theme at Mancold, which has employed many rugby players through the years including national and international level reps. “Working here certainly helps to keep people in shape – it’s hard physical work, but we pay well and have a great team culture.” The roof of Mancold’s new complex is covered in solar panels, with the installation proving very successful. Investing in solar is a win for the environment that also yields lower operational costs into the future. Mancold is now investigating the potential to expand their solar footprint by adding solar panels to their original site. This will likely go ahead, provided structural integrity standards for solar can be met at that site. Manawatu Cold Storage is entered in three categories at this year’s Yorb Manawatū Business Awards – Environmental & Sustainability, Distribution & Logistics, and Large Business. Delivered every second year by the Manawatū Business Chamber, the awards recognise achievement, celebrate success and encourage continued growth and excellence across the local business community. “We’ve booked a table for the gala awards night at the end of October, so we’ll see what happens. At the very least, it has been a good exercise to go through. We’ve already had some phenomenal references from half a dozen key clients. To see how highly they regard us has been very humbling.” Mancold is strategically positioned for further growth, with more land already available for another phase of expansion in future. • Industrial refrigeration specialists • Refrigeration design and installation • Air conditioning design and installation • Project management 1/1 Wiltshire Place, Palmerston North 4412 06 280 2330 021 280 2338 daniel.jordan@activerefrig.co.nz PROUD TO SUPPORT MANAWATU COLD STORAGE keeping kiwis cool since 1997 PROUD TO SUPPORT MANAWATU COLD STORAGE
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