Page 37 - Food & Drink March 2020

Keeping in control
Montague’s new Rocklea site in Queenland is ensuring produce stays fresh from end-to-end. Doris Prodanovic writes.
MATERIALS HANDLING & LOGISTICS
WHEN fresh produce company Montague launched its fully- automated, temperature- controlled facility at the Brisbane Markets site in Rocklea, Queensland, end-to-end logistics and distribution capabilities were key in its final development.
The 5578 square-metre site has a 24/7 monitored cold storage space, as well as ripening rooms with tarpless technology from Europe. The specialised equipment was introduced to ensure the reduction of ethylene and airborne pathogens, as maintaining the ripeness of fresh produce, particularly in the Queensland climate, can often be a challenge, says Hamish Montague, general manager for Montague, Queensland.
Montague told Food & Drink Business: “Managing the ripening process using ethylene (gas), the control of bacteria and moulds, produce being handled or kept at the incorrect temperatures, and unstable cartons used to hold produce, can all impact on the ripeness or quality.”
“In an ongoing commitment to provide high quality fresh produce to consumers, the facility has been equipped with Australia’s first tarpless ripening rooms equipped with the latest European technology by Ecotop.
“It is a ‘best-in-class’ fruit ripening system for the controlled and uniform ripening of exotic fruits such as bananas, avocados, mangos,
papayas, kiwis and more. The system has superior ripening quality, and is a low cost, multifunctional operation.”
The new site also has an automated pallet receival and delivery system, which shuttles pallets of produce in and out of the building within a temperature-controlled environment. This allows customers to deliver pallets to the facility in a cold chain immediately, “to help maintain the quality of the fresh produce with the greatest of ease,” says Montague.
“Montague’s new C1 facility in the Rocklea markets provides growers and producers from all over Queensland with the access to help manage the challenges around maintaining
Queensland Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner and Hamish Montague at the Rocklea opening.
quality and managing ripening,” he says.
“Access to these facilities help to keep the produce in its best condition to avoid produce being damaged or bruised in the distribution process.” ✷
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www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au | March 2020 | Food&Drink business | 37