Compiled by Eamonn Ryan with technical input from Babylonstoren operations manager: Johannesburg, Koos Redelinghuys; and Graham Bloom, owner of contractor Cool Reaction (Pty) Ltd.
Babylonstoren, renowned for its premium Cape fresh produce, has significantly bolstered its operations with the opening of a new cold store warehouse in Midrand, Gauteng, for regional distribution of its rapidly growing online store.
Founded in 1692 as a wine and wheat Cape Dutch style farm, Babylonstoren was carefully restored by its current owners and a team of skilled hands into a unique destination with magnificent fruit and veg gardens at its core.
Located at the foot of the craggy Simonsberg mountains (incidentally excellent red wine territory), the traditional H-form house, storerooms, gabled henhouse and pigeon loft, wine cellar, stables and workshops, provide an insight into a self-sufficient rural past. This is a working farm, with a beautiful kitchen garden surrounded by vineyards and fruit orchards, with wheat fields and even a rice paddy.
As Babylonstoren’s business continues to grow, the company has invested in their cold chain to ensure quality and freshness with scalability – hence the importance of the new cold storage facility in managing increased demand and ensuring product quality.
The cold storage project at Babylonstoren and at Midrand has been primarily managed in-house, with a team of project engineers handling the various technical aspects. This approach ensures that the company maintains control over the project’s quality and execution.
Bloom outlines the broad elements of the project:
- Cold room design: The cold room features a conveyor belt system, with distinct areas for cold holding and cold fish picking. Consultants and experts collaborated to ensure efficient refrigeration and storage.
- Insulated panels: Dalucon supplied insulated panels for the cold room. These panels form the backbone of the structure, ensuring optimal temperature control.
- Condensers and brands: The refrigeration system includes both Cubicool and Daikin condensing units linked up with Cubicool evaporator coils and electrical control panels which play a crucial role in maintaining the cold rooms functionality.
Cool Reaction has a long-standing relationship with Babylonstoren, Johannesburg branch. The cold room facilities with their online marketing has grown rapidly since the installation of the original cold rooms and consequently required additional space. New rooms were built to specifications, such as: a glass freezer room, cold fresh fine picking, cold holding, 3×12 foot Coldcab lofty dairy upright display fridges, loading and carton live, cold delivery and dispatch. All these areas operate at specific temperatures as required for optimal storage of products. Part of the overall project involved establishing a conveyor belt system for ease of storage involving a cold holding room and a cold picking room.
Cool Reaction approached Daikin for a solution for the project. Cool Reaction was responsible for the supplying, installing and commissioning of all the refrigeration equipment on a turnkey basis, with Daikin ZEAS refrigeration condensers mounted on the outside of the wall to save internal space.
To house the condensers a steel structure was built outside the premises approximately 2.5m above ground level so that vehicles and equipment had access within the building.
Cool Reaction was also involved with the air conditioning equipment consisting of mainly ducted hide-away splits and cassette units.
The entire logistics, from farm to warehouse, takes less than 24 hours
Redelinghuys outlines the journey of Babylonstoren’s cold chain logistics as having begun five years ago in Cape Town. “Initially an online venture launched during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the business quickly saw success motivating us to offer the same fresh produce in Johannesburg starting three years ago.”
Babylonstoren maintains a meticulous cold chain to ensure the freshness of its products. “Seventy percent of our products are manufactured in Cape Town. We have several production facilities on the farm itself, and the produce is stored under temperature according to the standards,” he details.
“From Cape Town the produce is transported, ensuring the cold chain is maintained throughout. Upon arrival in Midrand, strict inspections are conducted before the products are stored in the Babylonstoren warehouse’s temperature-controlled areas. We aim to get the products into the freezers or refrigerated areas within three minutes of arrival. The entire process, from farm to warehouse, takes less than 24 hours,” says Redelinghuys
Babylonstoren’s previous facility in Johannesburg did not include cold storage, limiting their ability to handle perishables. Recognising the need for a dedicated cold storage facility, they procured a new warehouse and embarked on developing state-of-the-art coolers, freezers, and bulk storage areas.
“We procured this new warehouse to develop our cooler freezers and bulk storage, ensuring we adhere to the cold chain standards. The new cold store is significantly larger than the previous setup. The previous facility measured approximately 26m by 5m – in contrast, the new cold store spans about 400m2, doubling the cold storage capacity, while the entire warehouse covers 1 200m2 providing space for efficient operations as well as capacity to meet the growing demand for our premium fresh produce in Johannesburg.”
Maintaining a stringent cold chain is crucial for Babylonstoren. For this reason, it has its own carefully temperature-engineered delivery vehicles instead of third parties. The company has conducted numerous trials and tests to ensure compliance. “Our third-party supplier from Cape Town to Gauteng is compliant with our standards. Adjustments, such as loading products at 2°C instead of 4°C, have been implemented to maintain quality during transit.”
Monitoring is a key component to Babylonstoren’s strategy. “We have metrics installed in the vehicles and fridges, monitored 24/7,” Redelinghuys explains. This constant vigilance ensures optimal shelf life for their products.
Temperature-controlled zonesThe new facility boasts various temperature – controlled zones to accommodate different product requirements: Holding facility and picking shelves: Maintained under 5°C, with picking shelves running between 2°C and 4°C. Packing area: Kept under 10°C, but products cannot be held for more than two hours before being transferred to the holding area. Carton live area: Also, under 5°C, where orders are routed and marked. Loading zone: Vehicles’ refrigeration pre-cooled to under 5°C before loading, ensuring the cold chain is not broken during transport. Wine is stored between 14°C and 15°C. Specialised freezing units: Babylonstoren also manages extremely temperature-sensitive products, such as gelato, for which freezer units are set to -25°C degrees to keep intact. The company has also installed freezer units in their fleet of vehicles to maintain these temperatures during delivery. |
Innovation in fleet management
Babylonstoren Midrand has 1 000 SKUs across different categories: dairy, meat, wine, juice and gelato products. A multi-temperature capability ensures that all products, regardless of their temperature requirements, are delivered in optimal condition. Babylonstoren remains a wine farm and produces (including from neighbouring farms) red wine, white wine, and MCC (Méthode Cap Classique).
© Cold Link Africa
Babylonstoren is developing a fleet capable of delivering products at three different temperatures. “We are working on a project to deliver fresh ambient products between 2°C and 5°C, frozen products under -25°C – and warm bread,” Redelinghuys explains.
One of the innovative ideas Babylonstoren is pursuing is delivering warm bread to its cu
stomers. This involves a logistical challenge: “We have a supplier who makes the bread overnight and delivers it fresh in the mornings. We want to deliver warm bread, so that’s the next challenge.”
Babylonstoren’s success in Johannesburg builds on their previous experience. “In Cape Town, they started the project with a new cold room and a massive warehouse. Our setup here is based on that, but on a smaller scale.” This prior experience has been invaluable in replicating and scaling the operations efficiently in Johannesburg. Currently, Babylonstoren offers next-day delivery, with a focus on quality and exceptional service.
Unique challenges of the project
Bloom sheds light on some challenges faced during the cold storage project’s design and installation. Initially, the team had to decommission existing cold rooms and repurpose the equipment. “We had to re-use refrigeration equipment and panels, which was a challenge due to the differing volumes and requirements.”
Another significant challenge involved the air curtains used for loading vehicles. “The air curtains were not initially made for the specific vehicles we use, so we had to make adjustments,” Redelinghuys notes. This included modifying the air curtain height and fitting Velcro curtains to accommodate smaller delivery trucks.
The project places a strong emphasis on energy efficiency. “We’ve used Daikin condensers because they are efficient on electrical energy, using inverter technology,” says Bloom. This focus on sustainability is crucial for maintaining the cold chain while minimising energy consumption.
Babylonstoren’s cold storage facility is designed with future growth in mind. “Our capacity has more than doubled, and we have room to install additional cold storage if needed,” says Redelinghuys. The facility is expected to support growth for the next three years, during which the company aims to continue expanding organically without compromising quality and service.
