Page 40 - Food&Drink Jan-Feb 2022 magazine

THE COLD CHAIN
Cooling expertise for world-class build
The rebuild of Thomas Foods International’s Murray Bridge meat- processing facility is set to be a showcase for the latest technology and sustainable operations. Australia’s largest air-conditioning manufacturer Seeley International is delivering the HVAC system to
help achieve that goal. Kim Berry writes.
THE 2018 fire that destroyed Thomas Food International’s Murray Bridge facility is becoming a distant memory as its replacement rises from the ground.
The highest structure on the site will be a 10-storey automated packaging building with the capacity to store 40,000 cartons of frozen and chilled meat products. (See our October 2021 issue for more on the build.)
The South Australian based manufacturer Seeley International is building the HVAC system for the plant with its Climate Wizard (IEC) indirect evaporative cooling technology.
Seeley’s group managing director Jon Seeley said the advanced manufacturing capabilities of the facility presented “a significant cooling and ventilation demand”.
The Stage One build, due for completion at the end of 2022,
will have an initial beef processing capacity of up to 600 head per day and a range of associated packaging, storage, and administrative facilities.
“The project is a strong case study for our growing credentials in the food and beverage manufacturing sector,” Seeley says.
“We are exceptionally proud to be partnering
withThomasFoods.Its
strong sustainability and health mandates are really what our technology espouses. We are increasingly seeing the convergence of sustainability and health, and the growing challenge for buildings to be efficient in delivering fresh, outside air.”
Seeley says that the global pandemic has increased awareness of the importance of air quality in buildings.
“Coupled with the industry’s ongoing drive for sustainability, we know that the single biggest challenge for building owners/ managers is cooling 100 per cent outside air without being penalised with high energy costs,” he explains.
Its Climate Wizard system is highly efficient, providing
100 per cent fresh filtered outside air with low peak power demand and no harmful refrigerants.
In Stage One, Seeley will supply the main HVAC equipment to cool the slaughter floor and some adjoining areas to 22°C. Servicing around 2400 square metres, the main HVAC plant will be 15 CW-80S Climate Wizard indirect/direct evaporative air conditioners, delivering 112,500 litres per second of airflow.
The main challenges are the strict requirements for a temperature set point of
22°C +/ – 2°C and room air distributionandpressurisation.
“Our Climate Wizard technology has been a global disruptor of conventional cooling, with thousands of units deployed globally across the food and wine, manufacturing, retail, health, and education sectors,” Seeley says.
Climate Wizard has been on the market for 12 years and large-scale projects are not new for Seeley, with its Treasury Wine Estates 30,000 square metre barrel hall installation requiring 24 CW-80S Climate Wizard indirect/direct evaporative air conditioners.
The Murray Bridge contract is an important milestone for the company, demonstrating the capacity of its technology to meet the stringent efficiency, health and air-flow requirements needed to deliver premium food produce.
There is also an element of state pride. Thomas Foods International CEO Darren Thomas said he was pleased to have a South Australian manufacturer onboard.
“Our facility will incorporate the best food-manufacturing technology in the world, and I am thrilled to have a fellow South Australian company that shares a similar vision for sustainability and health on board,” Thomas says.
As 2022 unfolds, Murray Bridge will represent local excellence setting global standards. ✷
Thomas Food International’s Murray Bridge facility build is setting standards.
Globaldisruptor:Seeley’sClimateWizard
40 | Food&Drink business | January-February 2022 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au