Okahandja abattoir to be converted into cold storage
The Meatco Plant in Okahandja will soon be converted into an International Export Cold Storage, if all goes according to plan and operations will commence early April 2017, according to Meatco in their latest Newsletter.
Meatco said the cold storage will accommodate 20 employees and all freezing and cooling equipment has already been bought while other machines are being serviced and tested for functionality.
Additional storage and cold storage material such as the FOSS X-Ray was purchased and discussions on installations are ongoing.
The newsletter stated that Inspections by the Directorate of Veterinary Services will take place early in March to ensure compliance as an approved European Union (EU) Export Cold Storage.
“As for the next three years, depending on the cattle numbers, the water situation and the effluent requirements necessitates that a cold storage facility is the best way to maximise plant usage,”Meatco added.
According to Superintendent, Johannes Joachim, the building will not remain unoccupied as a lot of money was invested in erecting the structure.
“At this point no money is being generated from the building as there is no activity taking place. But I am excited that this will soon be a thing of the past when the Cold Storage opens in Okahandja,” he said.
He said that it is beneficial to bring the Cold Storage to Okahandja instead of keeping it at Table Bay because transporting pallets to South Africa costs around N$22,000 per trip, in comparison to the N$10, 000 transport cost to Walvis Bay.
“It is also beneficial for Meatco that we place orders locally from where they will be sent to Walvis Bay instead of placing orders from South Africa,” he explained.
“Since I will remain in the position of Superintendent, there will be minimal training needed. The only difference is that from now on, pallets will be received from Windhoek to Okahandja whilst in the past they were received from Okahandja and Windhoek to Table Bay (Cape Town),” he added.
