A fruitful partnership with Cool Dynamics Refrigeration (Qld), Australia

Vaisala Pty Ltd
Friday, 01 October, 2021

Cool Dynamics Qld has been delivering commercial and industrial refrigeration solutions to the fruit and vegetable supply industry across Australia’s eastern seaboard for more than two decades. Director Bruce Townsend tells us why Vaisala’s measurement sensors are his number-one choice for maintaining optimal conditions in the controlled storage atmospheres that his customers rely on.

Maintaining the optimal storage conditions for fruit and vegetables protects the produce against loss of moisture, decay, and aging. The oxygen, carbon dioxide (CO₂), and nitrogen concentrations as well as relative humidity and temperature are regulated in controlled atmosphere storage rooms, which play a key role in getting the produce to market in exactly the right condition for sale. When kept under ideal conditions produce has a longer shelf life, which in turn reduces food waste and improves profitability for suppliers.

A vital part of the supply chain

Measuring and controlling the various parameters inside these storage facilities is impossible without top-quality sensors to provide reliable, stable, and accurate data. This is why Bruce Townsend and his team rely on Vaisala solutions as a critical part of the integrated solutions his company provides for leading players in Australia’s fruit and vegetable supply industry.

“We specialize in integrated solutions such as ripening, fast cooling, and fumigation rooms, and have installed major projects in every state on Australia’s eastern seaboard,” says Bruce. “The solutions we deliver are a vital part of our customers’ supply chains because they ensure the produce is stored under exactly the right conditions to control the ripening process and maintain freshness. We’ve been integrating Vaisala sensors in our projects for many years, mainly to measure CO₂, temperature, and humidity,” he continues.

Transparency and efficiency are the top priorities

With the help of Vaisala’s sensors, Cool Dynamics Qld designs and delivers solutions that provide their customers with a precise picture of exactly what’s going on with their produce and ensure optimal storage conditions, helping them to secure the best possible price.

Bruce says that alongside gaining transparency over the conditions inside their storage facilities, energy efficiency is his clients’ other top priority. “Over the lifecycle of a refrigeration facility, the biggest outlay by far is the electricity to power the cooling equipment, lighting and so on, which can account for 75% of the total lifetime cost of ownership. With accurate sensor data, energy consumption can be optimized, enabling significant savings,” Bruce explains.

One of Cool Dynamics Qld’s latest big projects featuring Vaisala’s leading sensor solutions was for JH Leavy & Co, part of the Darling Group and one of the longest-established fruit and vegetable wholesaling businesses in the Brisbane Markets.

“We designed and delivered 10 ripening and fumigation rooms for the Brisbane Markets E1 facility using the latest technologies. The customer has been extremely positive about the performance of the rooms, and I can say with confidence that Vaisala’s solutions have made a big contribution to the success of this project and helped to strengthen our relationship with this important customer,” Bruce highlights. “Vaisala’s sensors are by far the most cost-effective and reliable on the market and are my number one choice for measuring CO₂, temperature, and humidity.”