MTX have recently completed the installation of two random access ripening rooms and a blast chiller for Turners PPL. All three ripening rooms allow access to any individual pallet situated within the room at a particular time. This is due to the varying ripening times of each individual pallet of fruit.
The rooms were three tiers in construction. This allowed three rooms to be positioned in such a way as to not take up large amounts of floor space. All structural steelwork was designed by MTX in-house specialists in conjunction with structural engineers.
The ripening rooms were temperature controlled via existing warehouse coolers working together with electric heater batteries situated in a service void above the rooms. Cool air enters the room via an opposed blade damper when cooling is called for.
The construction of the blast chiller, including all steelwork, was undertaken by MTX. The room was then fitted out with refrigeration equipment by a specialist contractor employed directly by the client.
Both ripening rooms were fitted with automatically operated inverter drives in order to allow variable speed fan control. This has proved to be both cost effective and energy saving with a payback of around 12 months.
