New cold storage facility for fruit producer Ditzler
Solid as a rock – but also mobile and efficient
What is the biggest problem when constructing a warehouse in Chile? Bureaucracy, strikes, corruption? No, none of the above! The biggest problem in Chile is the imminent threat of earthquakes. The country is located at the pacific ring of fire and has been shaken by lots of strong quakes in its history. Despite all this, the Chilean people are not putting up with their destiny.
But what exactly can human beings do to withstand our planet’s most elemental forces? The Chilean people found a very rational response to this question: new buildings need to be earthquake-proof. How difficult this is, became obvious after the disastrous quake that hit Chile on February 27, 2010. The evidence that it is possible after all, comes from SSI Schaefer.
Our customer in this project was Ditzler Chile Ltda, a subsidiary of the Swiss company Louis Ditzler AG from Möhlin. Their core business activity is producing and selling frozen fruits and vegetables. To enable the further growth of the company, a new cold storage facility was required.
New cold storage facility at the Pacific ring of fire – economic and earthquake-proof
Project objectives:
- Very high standard of earthquake safety
- Semi-automated solution in deep-freeze area
- Short transfer time from the refrigerated area to the truck
- Energy efficiency
- Adapted to the functionalities of the customer’s warehouse and specific food industry requirements
- Maximum storage capacity
- Highest level of filling
- Flexibility and dynamics at high throughput
- Direct access to all pallet positions
- Eco-friendly design even exceeding current EU standards
As expected, the Chilean building regulations are quite strict when it comes to the construction of new facilities. Those in charge may be held personally liable in case of proven structural deficiencies. This is definitely not the right place for trial and error. After looking at various references, especially those built in seismic areas, Ditzler decided in favour of SSI Schaefer as a partner in this project. A very smart choice indeed.
Our engineers already had valuable expertise from a number of related projects and were willing, to revise the existing building concept with regard to the strict regulations on earthquake safety. For example, they added tilt prevention to the carriages of the mobile racking and used thicker materials than usual. With these and other improvements, the new concept surpassed the existing standards and the state inspectors were completely satisfied with nothing left to be desired.
A cold storage facility however doesn’t just have to be safe, it must also work economically. This was another area in which the concept from SSI Schaefer excelled. For instance, we purchased special insulation material in Brazil and transported it overland to Chile. Considering the road conditions in South America, this was a logistical challenge – but totally worth it. The insulation, which is always critical in cold storage projects, easily passes EU norms. This way, the new warehouse contributes significantly to the economic success of Ditzler.
«The project met my expectations in every respect. Even under the more difficult conditions imposed by the earthquake safety requirements, I was able to rely fully on the expertise and cooperativeness of SSI Schaefer»
Bruno Ditzler, owner of Louis Ditzler AG
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- The project in detail
Our deliveries and services:
- Concept planning and plant design
- Mobile racking system in temperature controlled area for 10,042 storage locations
- Automatic corridor lighting
- Automatic shelf trolley control system
- Use of thicker materials for racking systems
- Cross-bracing and anti-tilt protection for mobile bases
