“Quality as well as safety as well as traceability from beginning until the end, that’s all is important,” begins Guy Dhaen Sivafrost’s Sales Relationships and Marketing Manager. The Belgian family-owned business was established in 1986 to provide food storage facility that was frozen. After the building of the warehouse with a high-rise in the year 2020, the capacity to store frozen food increased up to 30,000 pallets of euro.

“We ran into limits on the ground, so we moved higher. The storage space, which is 43 meters high can be fully automated and gives complete control of pallet positioning. Software is in charge of everything. This reduces time when loading and unloading. The products are placed straight on the conveyor belt, and they are then placed automatically. The cranes we use are all in the high bay. We are able to spread our products among several. If one has an issue with the technology, work could continue.”

“For our purposes, automation serves as an administrative and physical focus. It’s the direction we’re heading. It will allow us to monitor processes better and with less chances of making mistakes. We’re for instance connected to a greater number of our clients through EDI. The system allows customers to directly input their data to our system. Because of this, you get better rates as well as a faster method of work, and you can also keep an watch on what’s happening,” says Guy.

Sivafrost is a storage and packaging company that provides the services of frozen products for a variety of firms. Apart from the fruit and vegetable sector, they also cater to the bakery, fish and frozen snacks sectors. “Until some time ago it was estimated that the fruit and vegetable portion was around 30% However, that number is increasing and it’s now nearly 40 percent. Our equipment can mix different with frozen products. As a result, the portion of fruit sales is increasing. Many of our clients in the world are specifically focused specifically on smoothies.”

“We’re strictly a service company without a production facility of our own. A few of our clients purchase items from all over the globe and operate plants all over the world. Some of them create the packaging themselves, however because of our expertise customers still contact us for specific inquiries. If they need to design a package for printing We can arrange it for them. Printing large quantities or complicated products is desirable for those who need to print large volumes. They don’t need to make investments and are able to focus on their core operation. Our goal is to become more than a mere supplier of services, but also an advisor on everything that has that has to do with customers” frozen items,” Guy explains.

Timing is vital

According to Sivafrost, the most difficult issue is the timing. “We’re mostly at the on the back end. When customers require their goods from abroad the strictest timing is often required. There are many lines of production however, due to the variety of products varieties and the hygienic aspect, it is necessary to alter and wash the equipment regularly. We have production lines running throughout the day, to ensure that everything is running efficiently.”

Marketing manager, Jeremy Smith, says that there is a demand for packaging that differs from one to the next. is an important development. “Products such as drinks and snacks smoothies are packaged less and less in plastic, and packed into boxes. It’s not without its challenges,” he says. Supply of goods due to for instance, climate change, isn’t a problem in Sivafrost, Guy adds. “That could be due to the fact of the variety of items we stock. However, should customers that has frozen storage suffer from reduced production, there is more product to us.”

CO2 neutral

This year’s increased energy costs resulted in the need for headaches at this facility for frozen foods, as well. “We will, of course, strive to make our costs as minimal as is possible through making sure that we generate more natural energy possible. We have, for instance, the wind turbine that is within our building as well as solar panels on our rooftops. Also, we recently put solar panels on our tall warehouse roof. We use green electricity to meet all of our other energy requirements. We are CO2-neutral and we’ve put a lot of work into this. This is paying off: we’re certainly getting more exposure to companies listed on the stock exchange,” Guy admits.

“But We, too were required to transfer our higher costs onto our customers. It’s not just about the energy prices, but in Belgium the country, also they index wages. This isn’t an easy task to implement, however we made this announcement as clear as was possible, and sought out the most mutually acceptable ways to solve the issue. The majority of clients opted for a total price hike. It is possible to check the prices of energy each month, but it’s a bit more challenging to communicate these changes when you’re in the field and to keep it open.”

A competitive advantage is crucial, says Guy. “Local as well as international warehouses are now offering freezer storage for frozen goods. But, the process of packaging them is an entirely different thing as fewer companies have a hand in it. The strength of our company is undoubtedly the experience we’ve gained over the last 37 years. Naturally, costs are crucial but what matters most is the quality and customer service. In the end, businesses require a perfect delivery of their products, it’s that simple,” He concluding.

More information is available here:

Guy Dhaen

Sivafrost

Schaapveld 20 – Industrieterrein Hoogveld

ZONE G1 9200 Dendermonde

Tel. : +32 (0) 52 25 02 60

guy.dhaen@sivafrost.be

Source: The Plantations International Agroforestry Group of Companies