Filipino-owned ORCA Cold Chain Solutions has inaugurated the first-ever fully-automated cold storage facility in the Philippines located in Bagumbayan, Taguig City. Apart from officers of the company and the local government, top officials of the Board of Investments (BOI) were also present to confer the project with a pioneer status and register it under the Preferred Activities (Infrastructure and Logistics), of BOI’s Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) which entitles ORCA to special tax and investment incentives.
The 65,000 sqm. facility reportedly cost billion of pesos and features a high-bay storage racking structure equipped with Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) and Warehouse Management System (WMS) provided by German-group SSI Schaefer, to allow easier storage and retrieval of pallets. 14 storeys high, it has a 22,000 MT static storage capacity and moving capacity of 876,000 MT annually. Temperature will be between -18 to -25 Celsius to sustain the products’ quality and freshness. The facility supports real-time monitoring using software/digital technology.
This is also the only cold storage facility vying for a Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) Certification. It will cater to supermarkets, food processing companies, meat and seafood importers, pharmaceuticals, and other industries and will offer services such as frozen and chilled storage, inbound and outbound handling, back office support, plug-in facility, picking and sorting, refrigerated logistics and delivery, and other value-added services.
ORCA’s first facility in Alabang, Muntinlupa City has a capacity of 6,189 pallets for food products and implements paperless transactions where pallets are given unique QR codes recording the description, weight, and products’ expiration dates. It will open its third facility in Caloocan City that will have a total capacity of 15,000 pallets.
(Source: Philippine News Agency, City of Taguig, Manila Standard)