AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
Global shipping and logistics company Maersk gave a warm welcome to its chilly new facility at the Ruakura Superhub on Monday morning.
The new cold store facility is Maersk’s biggest infrastructure investment in New Zealand, costing about $150 million.
The 18,000-square-metre building has access to State Highway 1 and rail connectivity to the Port of Tauranga and the Port of Auckland, with the ability to load 40ft containers straight on to train carriages.
The facility solidifies Hamilton as a key cog in the so-called Golden Triangle for freight and logistics, and Maersk chief executive Vincent Clerc said it would help enhance the region’s thriving economic freight hub.
Hamilton, Auckland and Tauranga make up the Golden Triangle which accounts for 65 per cent of the country’s total freight.
Clerc said the facility would handle large quantities of imported and exported goods through New Zealand and the wider Asia-Pacific region.
He said the location was ideal and linked the ports of Auckland and Tauranga, providing a better supply chain for customers, and increasing the capacity for imports and exports to and from the country.
“The new cold chain facility allows customers to retain the quality of their products during transit by housing nearly 30,000 pallets of products in both cold rooms and blast freezers.
“The blast freezers can freeze produce down to international food standards in less than 24 hours, locking in the quality and ensuring fresher product when it reaches its destination.”
“The multitude of rooms allows for various products to be stored at different temperatures satisfying diverse customer needs.”
Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate said the new cold store facility brought bigger opportunities for Hamilton.
“It’s a huge milestone and in fact, I think most Hamiltonians don’t realise the importance of being part of an internationally successful company.
“As well as the wider Ruakura port, all the opportunities around logistics are just going to put us on the map in the world and provide opportunities for our future.
“We’ve always known that Hamilton has a lot to offer because we are the heart of the golden triangle.”
A.P. Moller Maersk partnered with local iwi of the Ruakura Hub, Waikato-Tainui, construction company Apollo Projects, and TMX Transform to help make the project come to life.
“New Zealand has long played a vital role in the global supply chain from dairy, meat to seafood and fruits, and the primary industry sector to drive the development of the country’s economy.
“This is an important milestone and an exciting time with a much-anticipated wait,” Clerc said.
He said Maersk designed the facility to achieve the highest sustainability rating, but at a minimum it would achieve a Greenstar-5 rating with the goal of six stars, higher than any other cold store in New Zealand.
Maersk has a goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2040 across its entire business and was limiting its environmental footprint in the new facility with the installation of solar panels on the rooftops, using CO2 instead of ammonia in freezers, collecting and re-using rainwater and providing electrical charging stations.
This article was written by Malisha Kumar and originally published in the Waikato Herald (NZ Herald) on February 21, 2024.