Business North September 2020

60 | Volume 19 | Issue 3 businessnorth CONTRACTING » Takanini Cold Storage / Chillex Group Chillex Group equipped to tackle large projects Kelly Deeks Takanini Cold Storage caters to a wide variety of clients. Karen Phelps Investment in new technology G rowing demand for cold storage facilities in the Auckland region is seeing Takanini Cold Storage invest in new technology to create greater efficiencies, says general manager Mika Jaya Subagio. “There is a general shortage of cold storage capacity in Auckland and that is creating increased demand for our services,” he says. Takanini Cold Storage was started around 13 years ago. Significant investment was made in the Takanini site and Takanini Cold Storage quickly grew into a business catering to a wide variety of clients. The company’s services are comprehensive and include rapid chill and blast freezing to minus 35 degrees celcius, devanning of imported product, palletising and shrink wrapping, container packing, inventory stock controls, transitional facilities and temperature monitoring. With MPI certification the company can offer a full range of import/export services including food quarantining. Mika says that in 2020 significant investment will be made in the company’s track and trace inventory system with scanning technology for greater ac- curacy and efficiency. “Traceability is a big part of what we do now and is growing in importance,” he says. Takanini Cold Storage also operates an MPI ac- credited risk management procedure system and has halal certification with one freezer dedicated to the storage of halal products. Takanini Cold Storage is a member of the New Zealand Cold Storage Association, which promotes and enhances the cold storage and logistics indus- try within New Zealand, keeping members informed on important matters relevant to their operations through industry-based conferences, newsletters, technical information and other items of interest. Mika says it is an example of the company’s focus on offering a very professional service. Around 30% of Takanini Cold Storage’s 3000 pal- let capacity is taken up by the fish bait companies with the rest by other clients including poultry, seafood and meat companies. Sea Treasure is one large client the company has been assisting for many years. Mika says clients such as Sea Treasure appreci- ate the ability of Takanini Cold Storage to offer a flexible services individually suited to their needs. “We are a small tightknit team which enables us to offer a professional yet extremely personal and reactive service. “For example if a client has an urgent container arriving we do out utmost to accommodate them,” he explains. Combined with individual management and solu- tions, customer specific reporting and client stock takes Takanini Cold Storage can provide everything a customer requires, says Mika. “We take the time to understand our clients and their unique business. “We then partner with our clients to ensure they have the space and services they require when they need them. That’s what sets Takanini Cold Storage apart.” C hillex Group prides itself on the delivery of a full and complete heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) service that their custom- ers value. While delivering excellent service over the past 25 years, Chillex Group has outgrown its previous three premises, and its 55 staff are now happily working out of a newly renovated and dedicated workshop, warehouse, and head office based at Airport Oaks with plenty of room for the company to continue its growth. Chillex Group was founded in 1995 with a mechanical construction focus, which later grew to include a service and maintenance division in 1998. In 2006 Chillex Group ventured off shore to carry out building services, contracting, and engineering management throughout the South Pacific. Chillex Group has always had a project engineer- ing presence however in the past several years the focus has been more on design engineering work and being able to offer design-and-build solutions. A recent investment in 3D Revit modelling soft- ware and training, and the expansion of the inhouse engineering team to include an extensive range of different skills in HVAC design gives Chillex Group the capabilities to complete large scale design and build projects. “We’ve increased our professional engineering staff which has allowed us to get into the larger design-and-build projects, and that’s what we’ve been concentrating on,” says Chillex Group director Mike Ford. “Our company focus is now on the whole life cycle of HVAC systems from initial concept and design, through construction, to service and ongo- ing maintenance support, and finally retrofit and replacement.” Chillex Group’s engineering team consists of fully qualified HVAC engineers, engineering cadets, and CAD draughters and the team has been trained in the use of the latest technologies. This is the standard approach for Chillex Group, as training as always been a very large focus and one of the keys to the company’s success since the beginning. “We have both active apprenticeship and cadet- ship programmes and we aim to have at least eight apprentices and two cadets at all times. “We’ve made a serious commitment to constantly improving our staff skill levels, for the benefit of our clients as well as the future of the air-conditioning industry.” With the investment in these new technologies, Chillex Group has been able to take on large-scale projects, including the Westfield Newmarket 309 mega-mall which was base designed with the Chillex Group’s engineering team developing the HVAC design component. Mike says this was the largest project Chillex Group has completed this year, and the size and scale of project that Chillex Group can now deliver with confidence. The Chillex Group Pacific team recently under- took a successful refurbishment of a pharmaceuti- cal plant in Fiji, partnering with a local company to combine extensive local knowledge with Chillex Group’s project management expertise. Chillex is ready to get back into its ongoing Pacific maintenance contracts as soon as the team can leave New Zealand. Mike feels Chillex Group management has posi- tioned itself to future proof its business by upskilling and investing in technology with the aim of continu- ing to build and grow on its solid foundation. Proudly supporting Takanini Cold Storage “Energy efficient solutions for all your cooling requirements” 0800 374 443 www.shannonrefrigeration.co.nz