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For Hollanda Fairfoods, the producer of Winnaz crisps in Rwanda, maintaining a steady supply of fresh potatoes is essential to keeping production running year-round. To achieve this, Hanse AgroStore delivered a 120-ton cold storage facility designed to stabilize potato availability, reduce waste, and support continuous production.
In Rwanda, the seasonal nature of potato harvesting often creates an abundance of tubers during harvest but a scarcity in the months that follow. This boom-and-bust cycle posed a challenge for Hollanda Fairfoods, as they relied on a steady flow of raw materials to meet production demands. The new storage facility allows them to buy in bulk during peak harvest periods, store potatoes under optimal conditions, and bridge supply gaps throughout the year. By avoiding the need to source potatoes at higher off-season prices, the company has significantly reduced procurement costs and improved overall profitability.
Before the cold storage solution, Hollanda Fairfoods faced frequent production slowdowns due to unpredictable potato supply. The introduction of a state-of-the-art facility has brought a new level of consistency to operations. By storing potatoes for several months in optimal conditions, the company now enjoys an uninterrupted supply of raw materials for crisp production.
Additionally, the facility has reduced food waste by preventing sprouting and spoilage, ensuring that each batch of stored potatoes retains its quality. The result? More efficient production, giving Hollanda Fairfoods a competitive edge in the market.
The Advanced Storage Solution for Hollanda Fairfoods is a step beyond traditional zero-energy storage. This facility incorporates active cooling and ventilation systems to maintain precise storage conditions, ensuring that potatoes stay fresh even in areas where natural ventilation alone is insufficient.
The facility is equipped with 4,800 plastic crates, each holding at least 25 kg of potatoes, simplifying handling and reducing the risk of crop damage. This organized crate system improves storage capacity, streamlines logistics, and makes inventory management easier for the client. By allowing for better regulation of internal temperature and humidity, Hollanda Fairfoods can bridge the gap between growing seasons and maintain a stable potato supply throughout the year.
With an experienced team of engineers and local workers, Hanse AgroStore constructed the 120-ton storage unit in less than two weeks. The facility was designed to meet the client’s specific request for partitioned chambers, allowing for better separation and controlled storage of different batches of produce. The addition of cooling and ventilation equipment required additional testing and fine-tuning to ensure optimal performance, but the result was a highly efficient, cost-effective system that provides consistent climate control.
“The client wanted to set up the store in a location where weather conditions were unfavorable for storage using only natural ventilation,” explains Chris Ramos from Hanse AgroStore. “To address this, we designed a more cost-effective cooling and ventilation system that ensures precise climate regulation with lower energy consumption. Continuous testing and improvements resulted in a system that Hollanda Fairfoods can now manage easily and accurately.”
The Hollanda Fairfoods project builds on the success of Hanse AgroStore’s previous climate-controlled storage initiatives in Kenya. With proven technology, adaptable designs, and the capacity to store larger volumes of crops, Hanse AgroStore continues to set the benchmark for sustainable cold storage in Africa.
Future-proof your operations with Hanse AgroStore, too! Reach out to us and discover how our cold storage solutions can improve your operations, reduce costs, and ensure product quality.
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