COLD STORAGE FOR MEAT & BUTCHERIES
Cold Rooms & Freezer Rooms for Meat and Butcheries
Reliable temperature control is essential throughout meat processing, storage and distribution.
Africhill designs and manufactures commercial and industrial cold rooms, freezer rooms and refrigeration systems for butcheries, meat and poultry processors, abattoirs, wholesalers and meat-storage facilities throughout South Africa and Africa.
Each system is designed around the product, required temperature, incoming product temperature, daily product load and operating conditions.
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Tell us what meat or poultry products you store, the required temperature and how much product enters the room each day.
MEAT REFRIGERATION
Cold Storage Designed Around the Meat Operation
Meat refrigeration requirements vary considerably depending on the operation. A retail butchery storing chilled meat has different requirements from a poultry processor receiving substantial daily product loads, a meat-processing facility receiving warmer product or an industrial freezer storing pallets of frozen meat.
Africhill designs the room and refrigeration system around how the facility actually operates.
DESIGNED AROUND
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What meat or poultry products will be stored?
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At what temperature does the product enter the room?
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How many kilograms, carcasses, pallets or tonnes enter each day?
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Does incoming product need to be actively cooled after entering?
MEAT COLD STORAGE APPLICATIONS
Cold Storage Across the Meat Industry
Butcheries
Walk-in cold and freezer rooms for retail and commercial butcheries.
Carcass Storage
Temperature-controlled rooms for hanging and storing carcasses according to the required operating conditions.
Meat Processing
Cold and freezer rooms integrated into meat-processing operations.
Poultry Processing
Chilled and frozen storage supporting poultry processing and production.
Chilled Meat
Cold rooms for packaged, processed and chilled meat products.
Frozen Meat & Poultry
Freezer rooms for bulk, packaged and palletised frozen meat and poultry products.
Wholesale Meat
Higher-capacity refrigerated storage for wholesalers and distributors.
Supermarkets
Back-of-house meat and poultry cold and freezer storage supporting retail operations.
Distribution & Export
Large refrigerated facilities for meat and poultry awaiting transport, distribution or export.
REFRIGERATION DESIGN
Meat Refrigeration Starts With the Product Load
Room dimensions alone are not enough to correctly specify refrigeration capacity. A cold room containing meat or poultry that enters already at its required storage temperature has a very different refrigeration duty from a room receiving large quantities of warmer product that must be cooled every day.
Product
Incoming Temperature
Required Temperature
Daily Product Load
Pull-Down Time
Room Size
Door Traffic
Ambient Conditions
PRODUCT LOAD MATTERS
Holding Chilled Meat Is Not the Same as Chilling Meat
There is an important difference between maintaining the temperature of meat that is already chilled and reducing the temperature of warmer meat entering the room.
When a cold room receives substantial quantities of product requiring temperature reduction, the refrigeration system must remove that product heat in addition to handling the normal heat load of the room.
CHILLED STORAGE ≠ PRODUCT PULL-DOWN
The room size tells us how big the room is. The product load helps determine how much refrigeration it needs.
WE NEED TO KNOW
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How warm is the product when it enters?
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How much product enters during each operating period?
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How quickly must the required temperature be reached?
BUTCHERY COLD ROOMS
Walk-In Cold Rooms for Butcheries
Africhill manufactures custom walk-in cold rooms for butcheries and meat retailers requiring reliable refrigerated storage.
Rooms can be designed around available floor space, storage capacity, meat rails where applicable, shelving requirements, door position, product movement, required temperature and refrigeration equipment position.
Cold and freezer rooms can also be positioned adjacent to each other where both chilled and frozen storage are required.
CARCASS STORAGE
Carcass Cold Rooms
Carcass-storage rooms require more consideration than simply calculating floor area. The design needs to consider carcass quantity, average weight, hanging arrangement, rail layout where applicable, room height, incoming temperature and refrigeration load.
CARCASS ROOM INPUTS
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Number and average weight of carcasses stored.
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Hanging layout, clearance and product movement where rails are required.
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Incoming temperature, required room temperature and cooling time.
PRODUCT MOVEMENT
Plan the Room Around the Meat Rail System
Where carcasses are stored on overhead rails, the cold room should be designed around the rail arrangement rather than trying to add it after the room has been completed.
Rail height, door height, carcass spacing, product clearance, loading and unloading, structural support, evaporator position, airflow and movement through the room should all be considered during planning.
Where meat rails are required, Africhill should receive this information during the design stage.
RAIL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
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Allow adequate product clearance and movement.
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Layout should support practical storage and airflow.
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Equipment placement should work with the room layout and airflow.
FROZEN MEAT STORAGE
Freezer Rooms for Frozen Meat
Africhill manufactures commercial and industrial meat freezer rooms for frozen meat storage.
Applications include frozen meat cuts, packaged meat, processed products, palletised meat, wholesale frozen stock and import or export storage.
Refrigeration is selected around the required operating temperature, room size, product load and operating environment.
STORAGE VS FREEZING
Storing Frozen Meat Is Different From Freezing Meat
A freezer room designed mainly to maintain already-frozen meat should not automatically be expected to freeze large quantities of fresh or chilled meat.
Freezing product introduces a much larger refrigeration load and can require different equipment and airflow.
ALREADY FROZEN PRODUCT → FROZEN STORAGE
FRESH / CHILLED PRODUCT → FREEZING PROCESS → FROZEN STORAGE
Where Africhill is required to freeze product, the product quantity, incoming temperature, final temperature and required freezing time must be established.
POULTRY COLD STORAGE
Cold Rooms & Freezer Rooms for Poultry
Poultry farms, processors, abattoirs, wholesalers and distributors can require chilled or frozen storage at different stages of the cold chain.
Africhill can design cold and freezer rooms for fresh chicken, processed poultry, packed products, bulk frozen chicken and other poultry-storage applications.
As with other meat applications, refrigeration requirements depend on product temperature, daily throughput, required storage conditions and whether incoming poultry needs to be held, cooled or frozen.
POULTRY APPLICATIONS
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Chilled storage for fresh chicken and poultry products.
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Freezer rooms for packed, bulk and palletised frozen products.
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Refrigerated storage supporting poultry processing and production.
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Higher-capacity storage supporting poultry supply chains.
RAPID FREEZING
Blast Freezing for Meat Products
Where meat or poultry products need to be frozen within a defined production period, Africhill can assess a dedicated blast-freezing solution.
Blast-freezing capacity is calculated around the product and required freezing cycle, not simply the dimensions of the room.
Important inputs include product type, product size, packaging, batch weight, incoming temperature, required final temperature, freezing time, loading arrangement and production cycles per day.
BLAST FREEZER INPUTS
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Quantity of product frozen during each cycle.
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Incoming temperature and required final temperature.
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How quickly the product must be frozen.
MEAT & POULTRY PROCESSING
Cold Storage for Meat & Poultry Processing Facilities
Larger meat and poultry processing facilities can require several temperature-controlled areas supporting different stages of production.
RECEIVING → CHILLED RAW MATERIAL → PROCESSING → CHILLED / FREEZING → FINISHED PRODUCT STORAGE → DISPATCH
Africhill can work from the customer’s production layout to integrate cold rooms, freezer rooms and other temperature-controlled areas into the facility.
SUBMIT YOUR PROJECT
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Send the production or facility layout where available.
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Africhill can assess defined cold-storage requirements.
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Include product loads, temperatures and daily operating requirements.
FOOD-HANDLING ENVIRONMENTS
Designed for Food-Handling Environments
Meat-processing, poultry-processing and butchery cold rooms need to support practical cleaning, temperature control and day-to-day product movement.
Room design can account for insulated-panel construction, cold and freezer doors, internal partitions, floor and drainage requirements, meat rail requirements where applicable, product flow, equipment positioning and temperature monitoring.
Final specifications should be coordinated with the customer’s food-safety, hygiene and regulatory requirements.
ROOM CONSIDERATIONS
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Insulated panels, doors and internal partitions.
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Layout considered around product, personnel and equipment movement.
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Practical cleaning and temperature-monitoring requirements considered.
COMMERCIAL TO INDUSTRIAL
From Local Butcheries to Industrial Meat & Poultry Facilities
Retail Butcheries
Custom walk-in cold and freezer rooms for daily meat storage.
Meat & Poultry Processors
Temperature-controlled storage supporting processing and production.
Wholesalers & Distributors
Larger cold and freezer rooms supporting substantial product volumes.
Industrial Meat Facilities
High-capacity refrigerated storage designed around tonnes of product and operational requirements.
Meat Cold Storage Projects
Examples of Africhill meat cold-storage projects. Each system is designed around the individual facility, product load and operating requirements.
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MEAT COLD STORAGE
Holstein Meats
South Africa
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MEAT PROCESSING
Meat Processing Shop
South Africa
AFRICA-WIDE SUPPLY
Made in South Africa. Built for Africa.
Africhill manufactures cold rooms, freezer rooms and insulated panels in South Africa and supplies refrigeration solutions throughout Africa.
For meat-processing, poultry and storage projects across Africa, system design can consider high ambient temperatures, transport distances, remote locations, electrical supply, installation requirements and long-term serviceability.
AFRICAN PROJECT DESIGN
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Local operating temperatures considered during refrigeration selection.
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Electrical supply and remote-site conditions considered.
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Project logistics considered from the design stage.
WHY AFRICHILL
Why Choose Africhill for Meat Cold Storage?
Experience Since 1998
More than 25 years of cold-storage and refrigeration experience.
South African Manufacturer
Cold rooms, freezer rooms and insulated panels manufactured in South Africa.
Butchery to Industrial
From walk-in butchery rooms to large meat and poultry-storage facilities.
Carcass Applications
Rooms can be designed around carcass loads and rail requirements.
Product-Load Design
Refrigeration selected around incoming product loads and operating conditions.
Freezer & Blast Freezing
Frozen storage and rapid-freezing applications assessed according to the required duty.
Custom Manufacturing
Rooms manufactured around the facility and operational requirements.
Complete Solution
Design, manufacture, refrigeration, installation and commissioning where required.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Meat, Butchery & Poultry Cold Room FAQs
Practical answers about butchery cold rooms, carcass storage, poultry cold storage, meat freezer rooms and refrigeration loads.
What temperature should a meat cold room operate at?
The required temperature depends on the product, processing stage and customer’s food-safety requirements. Africhill designs the refrigeration system around the specified storage conditions rather than applying one temperature to every meat application.
Can Africhill build a cold room for a small butchery?
Yes. Africhill manufactures custom commercial cold and freezer rooms for butcheries as well as larger industrial meat facilities.
Can Africhill manufacture carcass cold rooms?
Yes. The room can be designed around carcass quantity, weight, required temperature, product load and rail arrangement.
Why do carcass weight and quantity matter?
The amount of product entering the room affects the refrigeration load, particularly when carcasses need to be cooled after entering the room.
Does Africhill manufacture poultry cold rooms and freezer rooms?
Yes. Africhill can manufacture cold and freezer rooms for fresh poultry, processed products, frozen chicken, poultry-processing facilities, wholesalers and distribution operations. The refrigeration system is designed around the required temperature, product load and operating conditions.
Can I use a freezer room to freeze fresh meat or poultry?
Only if the refrigeration system has been designed for that duty. A freezer intended mainly to maintain already-frozen products may not have sufficient capacity to freeze substantial quantities of fresh product within the required time.
What is the difference between a freezer room and a blast freezer?
A freezer room is generally used for frozen-product storage. A blast-freezing system is designed to reduce product temperature much faster and requires refrigeration and airflow capacity appropriate to the product load and required cycle.
Can Africhill work from our abattoir or processing-facility drawings?
Yes. Customers, architects, engineers and consultants can submit layouts, specifications and tender documents for Africhill to assess the required temperature-controlled areas.
Does Africhill supply meat and poultry cold rooms outside South Africa?
Yes. Africhill manufactures in South Africa and supplies cold-storage solutions throughout Africa.
REQUEST A QUOTATION
Planning a Meat or Poultry Cold-Storage Facility?
Tell Africhill what products you need to store, how much product enters the room and whether the requirement is chilled storage, product pull-down, frozen storage or actual freezing.
USEFUL PROJECT INFORMATION
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Butchery, meat or poultry processor, abattoir, wholesale, distribution or retail.
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Incoming product temperature and required room temperature.
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Kilograms, tonnes, pallets or number of carcasses entering each day.
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Upload facility layouts, BOQs or specifications where available.
Request My Quotation
Already have a butchery, abattoir, meat-processing or poultry-processing layout? Include it with your enquiry so Africhill can assess the cold-storage requirements.