Betko, a prominent producer of apples and pears in South Africa, has enhanced its cold-chain capabilities and significantly prolonged the shelf life of its products thanks to a newly installed controlled-atmosphere (CA) facility designed by processing expert GEA.
The initiative, completed in just under a year, enables Betko to store fruit for as long as 14 months while simultaneously reducing peak electricity demand by 20%, thereby alleviating the burden on the region’s already stressed power grid.
How GEA Facilitated Extended Storage for Betko
Betko Fresh Produce, which cultivates 1,000 hectares in the Western Cape, recognized the need for increased cooling capabilities as its production scales up and existing facilities reached their limits in both space and power. In response, GEA created a state-of-the-art CA complex in Sunnyside, integrating building design, chamber configuration, and refrigeration technology into a single, energy-efficient system.
Notable features of the new setup include:
- Controlled-atmosphere chambers — a total of 24 rooms, each capable of accommodating 1,200 bins stacked 11 high, thereby enhancing capacity without needing a larger physical footprint.
- Adaptive suction set point control — GEA’s real-time optimization mechanism recalibrates the optimal operating conditions every minute for each chamber.
- GEA Grasso V-series compressors — these variable-speed units ramp up gradually without causing power surges and function efficiently during colder seasons.
- Energy-optimized building envelope — featuring insulated floors, a pioneering element for a CA facility of this kind.
Collectively, these advancements decrease peak electricity demand by 20%, allowing Betko to boost production capacity without additional reliance on the electricity grid.
Impacts of Extended Storage on Betko
The capability to store apples and pears for 12 to 14 months provides Betko with increased flexibility in global distribution. Previously, inadequate cooling space forced earlier market entries. Now, Betko can precisely schedule shipments to Africa, Asia, the EU, and the UK, ultimately enhancing product quality and financial outcomes. In its inaugural season alone, the facility processed over 37,000 bins, exceeding its initial design expectations.
A Partnership Spanning Three Decades
This project signifies the latest phase in a partnership between Betko and GEA that has been ongoing since 1992. Betko’s management emphasized that they entrusted GEA with complete freedom to optimize the system due to their long-standing relationship— a choice that has proven fruitful given the facility’s performance and swift implementation.