CHEP returnable packaging and new fit-for-purpose heat pads fill the brief for canola oil manufacturer Alba Edible Oils
May 4, 2012
CHEP returnable packaging and new fit-for-purpose heat pads have filled the brief for canola oil manufacturer Alba Edible Oils.
When the West Australian company set the task of moving its canola oil and tallow across the Nullabor, the challenge was not just cost-effectiveness, but finding a solution to a ‘sticky’ issue.
Producing more than 60,000 litres of canola oil a day at its 24/7 plant in Perth, Alba manufactures edible oils, fats and other ingredients for domestic and international food manufacturing and service industries.
Alba now needs to accommodate its predicted expanding capacity, having set an ambitious growth strategy of increasing production by 60 percent over 12 months.
Alba Edible Oils Chief Executive Officer and company director Ashley Palmer, whose family acquired WA-based Alba in the late 1990s, says CHEP’s returnable packaging system – featuring the HACCP certified UNICON Plus – was more cost effective for Alba than a one-way packaging system.
Alba also needs to quickly heat and decant tallow, which is solid at room temperature, into its customers’ onsite vessels.
While CHEP’s existing heat pad suits medium viscosity products that require a gentler heat (such as liquid sugar, honey and syrups), tallow requires heating at a higher temperature in a specific timeframe.
To address this, CHEP worked in collaboration with Alba over several months to develop the UNICON Hi Temp Heat Pad.
CHEP Australia Senior Business Relationships Manager Peter Gaddes says the project team ensured shipping efficiencies were maximised without risking the quality of the product.
“The added benefits of using the UNICORN Hi Temp Heat Pad for Alba is its flexibility, as it can be simply slipped into a standard bulk container where and when the customer needs it and removed when they don’t,” Gaddes says.
“This has already been a very exciting partnership with Alba to achieve this much so quickly and we look forward to continuing with innovative solutions that will help them grow their business.”
Ashley Palmer says the partnership with CHEP is built on
the need to work with a supplier who can meet the company’s growing demand for equipment and services.
In addition to the heat pads, Alba uses specially designed co-extruded liners with the UNICON Plus units as well as CHEP pallets and CHEPStretch for load containment.
Part of Alba’s growth is a new industrial non-food division which devises new uses for oils, particularly oils that can replace synthetic products with better environmental outcomes and better returns.
“Having a good supplier who is willing to grow with us is a great advantage,” Palmer adds.
“We’ve added a million litres a month to our capacity and we intend to grow this. CHEP has the capacity to grow with us and has demonstrated this in WA by being there for us at peak periods to keep up with production.
“We’re developing an innovative partnership and that’s what we’ve enjoyed about our relationship with CHEP.”