Jalisco Food Export Company Automated Cold Storage Project

Customer name:

Carlos Mendoza (Operations Director)
Company name:

Jalisco Food Export Company
Project location:

Industrial Park, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico (20.67°N, 103.35°W)
Cold storage type:

Multi-temperature Cold Storage (-25°C Freezer + 2~8°C Refrigeration)
Project period:

March 1, 2018 - August 31, 2018 (6 months)

Project Background and Core Challenges

Industry opportunities and pain points

Surge in export demand:

In 2018, Mexico's agricultural exports increased by 12% year-on-year (reached $35 billion), of which berry exports accounting for 18% of the global share, but the local cold storage capacity gap was up to 300,000 tons.
Aging equipment:

The customer's original cold storage was built in 2005, but now the refrigeration system still uses R22 refrigerant (GWP=1810), with a COP of only 1.2, and the storage temperature fluctuates by ±5℃.
Compliance pressure:

The new US FDA regulations require that the temperature fluctuation of the frozen food exported to the United States be ≤±1.5℃ throughout the process, and the customer's old warehouse was returned 12 batches in 2017 due to substandard temperature.

Technical goals

Build 10,000㎡ automated cold storage within 6 months, and increase storage capacity to 15,000 pallets;
Achieve the -25℃ freezing zone temperature control accuracy of ±0.8℃ (better than FDA standards);
Use environmentally friendly refrigerants to meet the Mexican compliance clause of the Montreal Protocol.

Highlights of the overall technical solution

Modular rapid construction system

Prefabricated warehouse panel integration technology:

Using 150mm thick polyurethane sandwich panels (density: 40kg/m³, thermal conductivity: ≤0.022W/m·K), the factory pre-installs moisture-proof resin film, shortening the on-site splicing period by 50%.

Airtight double insurance process: After the parent-child hook is locked, Huntsman polyurethane foam is injected, and the cold leakage of the door gap is controlled at 1.8W/m² (lower than the industry average of 2.5W/m²).
Refrigeration system innovation:

Main unit: Bitzer ECOLINE variable frequency screw machine (COP value 1.8@-40℃), with R448A environmentally friendly refrigerant (GWP value 1392);

Distributed evaporator layout: 8 EVAPCO low-temperature fans, with 30 temperature control points in the warehouse, achieving a temperature field standard deviation of ≤0.5℃.

Localized intelligent management

Automated logistics adaptation:

Deploy the Mexican local brand SISCODE shuttle system (cold-resistant -30℃), which supports narrow aisle (1.8m wide) operations, with an efficiency of 80 pallets/hour;

The integrated RFID cargo tracking system is directly connected to the Mexican Customs "single window" platform, shortening customs clearance time by 40%.
Disaster response design:

Seismic measures: The steel structure column base adopts BRB buckling restraint support (resistant to magnitude 9 earthquakes), meeting the construction standards of Mexico's Pacific Rim seismic belt;

Emergency power supply: 2 Cummins diesel generators (2,000kVA), which can resume cooling within 15 seconds after power failure.

Fast delivery of key nodes in 6 months

Demolition of old warehouse and foundation construction
2018.3.1-4.15
Drilling piles penetrated 10m deep into the volcanic rock layer (bearing capacity 12kN/m²)
Real-time dust monitoring + fog cannon dust reduction (PM2.5＜50μg/m³)

Warehouse and equipment installation
2018.4.16-7.10
The maximum daily assembly of warehouse panels is 1,200㎡, and the helium leakage rate of refrigeration pipelines is maintained below 0.5%
Rainproof sheds are set up during rainy season construction, and humidity control is maintained below 85%

System integration and acceptance
2018.7.11-8.31
It takes only 8 hours for an empty warehouse at -25℃ to cool down to the set temperature, with a maximum temperature difference of 1.2℃
Pay attention to the reserve of spare refrigerant

Project results and quantitative value