Auckland, 14 June 2024: The Maersk Hamilton Coldstore took home the CBRE Industrial Property Award at this year’s Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards. The 2024 awards were held tonight at Spark Arena with over 1,600 guests in attendance.
The site is owned by Maersk Logistics New Zealand whose intent was to build a sustainable facility to service the area and further deliver on its ambition of net zero across its business by 2040.
Constructed by Apollo Projects the facility provides 18,000m2 of coldstore which can house over 21,000 pallets of cold chain products. The fully convertible temperature-controlled space can accommodate temperatures ranging from -25°C to 15°C.
Strategically located in the Ruakura Superhub, the new facility is next to the new SH1 dual carriage way, the key transport corridor between Hamilton and Auckland. The site is adjacent to the Ruakura Inland Port, providing a seamless link to the Ports of Tauranga and Auckland, allowing the facility to better service both the export regions and the key import markets in the North Island.
Maersk customers including massive players such as Fonterra and Alliance Meatworks are now able to deliver their goods directly to the facility where they are maintained in the cold chain or blast frozen, ready for export.
“This new facility will have a massive impact on productivity,” said Andrew Evans, chief judge, Property Industry Awards. “The site can send freight directly to a ship in either Auckland or Tauranga via the inland port, via rail or via road. Overall, it means taking approximately 6,000 trucks a year off the road.”
While this is a future-focused solution in itself, the entire project has been constructed to maximise sustainability at every turn, targeting the highest possible Green Star rating of 6 stars.
The use and reuse of water onsite is one such example. Condensation is recovered from the defrosting of the evaporators and used to cool the hybrid cooling towers producing enough water to run the whole refrigeration system. Similarly, rainwater is harvested and used for irrigation and for the cisterns in the offices.
Throughout development, Maersk were careful to meet (and exceed) the Ruakura Superhub Guidelines (developed by Tainui to meet the Iwi’s high environmental standards). Once such consideration required that 10% of the landscaping made use of native planting from the local fauna. The site is also fully solar powered by a massive solar array producing over 1.4MW.
The refrigeration system is CO2 (the largest in the world) and uses the waste heat for office heating and equipment such as forklifts can be charged in situ allowing for longer operation times and less charging time.
The dock pods used along with the wheel lock systems for each dock, reduce air infiltration to reduce energy loss, and improve cold chain and safety for operational staff and truck drivers.
Said Evans, “As judges we are delighted to see that even though this building isn’t in the Resene Sustainable Building Property Award category, it has so many carefully thought out, sustainable elements to it, following the trend of putting sustainability at the heart of local property development. This can only be good for the industry and our country.”
As well as a focus on sustainability, the Maersk team were intentional about including the Iwi and community in the project. The company has assisted with job creation and provided Tainui with logistics and supply-chain training systems for any of their members who are looking to logistics as a career. The site also includes artwork by Iwi artist Eugene Kara.
Now in their 34th year, the Property Industry Awards are the most prestigious property awards programme in Aotearoa New Zealand celebrating excellence in design and innovation in the built environment.
CBRE Industrial Property Award
Best in Category: Maersk Hamilton Coldstore
- Owner/developer: Maersk Logistics New Zealand
- Construction: Apollo Projects
- Architect/structural/building enclosure engineer: Stiles and Hooker
- Service engineer: Butterworth Electrical Services
- Mechanical engineer: CoolLogic
- Quantity surveyor: BQH
- Project manager: TMX Transform
- Other consultants: Electrical Consulting Services, Eugene Kara
Excellence:
- Cardinal Drury Automated Warehouse, Auckland
- Mainfreight Favona, Auckland
- Tāwharau Lane, Auckland
Merit:
- 25-27 Landing Drive, The Landing Business Park, Auckland
- 88 Hobsonville Road, Auckland
- Altus – Te Rapa Gateway, Hamilton
- Bluebird Foods Automated Warehouse, Auckland
- Kmart Distribution Centre – Ruakura, Hamilton
- Linton Maintenance Support Facility – Farrier Lines, Palmerston North
- LPC Te Whare Whakatika maintenance workshops, Christchurch
ENDS