CHEP rises to the challenge for Lesaffre Australia Pacific

Lesaffre Australia Pacific is an Australian manufacturer of bakers’ yeast and bread improvers, and a supplier of an extensive range of bakery ingredients. With branches in four states and a network of distributors across the country, Lesaffre aims to service clients in Australia and the Pacific in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

A CHEP customer for more than 10 years, Lesaffre was using the CHEPBox, a CHEP intermediate bulk container (IBC) designed specifically for food-industry applications, to transport up to 57,000 litres of liquid yeast each week from its Melbourne manufacturing site to its Perth distribution site.

CHEP approached Lesaffre with an opportunity to increase efficiencies with the new addition to the CHEP IBC range - the CHEP Intercon.

Peter Gaddes, CHEP Senior Business Relationship Manager, says while the CHEPBoxes moved well for Lesaffre, CHEP believed the new Intercon would add further efficiencies to Lesaffre’s supply chain.

“When you’re a CHEP customer, we continue to work with you to evaluate ways we can improve supply-chain efficiencies and business process and decrease costs,” Gaddes said.

Made from food-grade polypropylene, the next-generation Intercon is designed specifically for the food manufacturing sector and can be used for liquid and dry food applications - anything from juices, edible oil, meat and vinegar, to liquid yeast.

The move to the Intercon has provided multiple efficiencies for Lesaffre; the biggest improvement is the increased handling capacity of the Intercon.

Although the Intercon is more than 60 kg lighter than the CHEPBox, it can accommodate 50 litres more liquid yeast. This means Lesaffre can shift more product with fewer boxes.

Russell Cotterell, National Logistics and Purchasing Manager for Lesaffre Australia Pacific, said, “The reduction in the weight of our freight, combined with the ability to move more product has cut our annual freight component. The reduction from 144 trips to 140 trips a year is a huge benefit, as the Melbourne to Perth trip is logistically one of the most expensive channels in the country.”

Quality products that meet HACCP and ISO standards are also a priority for Lesaffre, and the CHEP Intercon features a number of innovations to meet the high standards of the food industry.

“A drop door on the side of the unit enables easy access to the base for manual filling and placement of liner bags, so our staff can reach further down inside the Intercon without having to bend,” Cotterell said.

“The strong, lightweight construction also means the Intercon is easy to manoeuvre within our plant during filling, while the unit’s four-way design allows forklifts access from all four sides, providing improved OH&S standards and greater handling efficiencies across the plant.

“The smooth finish on the walls of the Intercon has also improved our OH&S standards as they are not only quick and easy to clean, but ensure there are fewer catchment areas for the liquid yeast to get caught.”

Cotterell says feedback from staff was also glowing.

“Our people on the manufacturing floor, the forklift drivers, truck drivers and those in the Perth distribution site have all contacted me to say how happy they are with the efficiency of the Intercons,” Cotterell said.

Cotterell says that Lesaffre changed to CHEP 10 years ago to streamline its pooling model and, since then, the company has continued to impress.

“CHEP’s recommendation to change to the Intercon has improved business processes across the board for us. In the past 12 months we’ve reduced our freight task, freight cost and improved our OH&S standards.”