Logistics solution firm Royal Cargo shifts to solar energy
Leading end-to-end logistics solutions company Royal Cargo has upgraded its cold chain facilities by converting the warehouses’ main power source to solar energy.
Royal Cargo’s cold chain facilities are the first warehouses in the country that run on solar technology, marking a new milestone for Royal Cargo. The warehouses function as depository for meat, dairy and juice products.
The installation of solar panels began in 2015 with the Biñan, Laguna warehouse and took three months and two phases to finish, during which period Royal Cargo evaluated the viability and cost efficiency of adopting solar technology in its operations. After achieving a 9 percent drop in overall electricity cost for the Laguna cold chain facility within the first year of installing solar technology, the company decided in 2016 to expand the shift to solar energy to its warehouse in Dasmariñas, Cavite.
According to Royal Cargo President Elmer Francisco Sarmiento, the decision to shift to solar technology is part of the company’s vision to bring world-class cold chain facility to the Philippines.
“We started looking for an alternative power source that can sustain and even improve our facilities’ operations without overspending substantially. Under the direction of our group CEO, Michael Raeuber, we began investing in green technology and eventually saw more opportunities from it,” Sarmiento shared.
The solar-powered cold chain facilities in Laguna and Cavite, which have 1MW and 225KW energy capacity respectively, save up to R4 million annually in total electricity costs. With hopes to reduce total electricity costs up to 50 percent, Royal Cargo plans to adopt solar technology in its other base of operations this year, starting with the North Hub in Bulacan, the company’s biggest and most up-to-date cold chain facility, which will be inaugurated in June this year.
As a pioneer in cold chain operations, Royal Cargo provides the most complete cold chain solutions in the market.
Senior Vice President for Contract Logistics Jet Ambalada shared that as a cold chain specialist, the company offers top-tier cold chain facilities, a well thought out distribution system and expertise on how to effectively manage the cold chain supply requirements of different industries, primarily the food retail sector.
“We go beyond providing storage of frozen goods. We also cover delivery of such items to different points across the country,” Ambalada said.
Royal Cargo’s cold chain solutions also include transportation of containerized goods using 40- and 20foot containers. The company bought smaller vans and trucks to ensure 24/7 delivery service. For delivery of smaller products and goods, Royal Cargo purchased tricycle-type vehicles with a small refrigerated container at the back, all to be able to address the different requirements of clients.
“We see continued growth in the local frozen goods sector. The more sophisticated tastes and growing purchasing power of Filipinos brought about by the increasing OFW remittances and the robust business process organizations (BPOs) investments in the country will continue to spur demand for frozen products. These developments in the local business landscape promises better years ahead in the industry,” Sarmiento said.
In anticipation of stronger market demand and the resulting rise in energy consumption, the company continues to invest in new technologies, as is the case in shifting to solar energy for its cold chain facilities.
“While operations prior to installing solar technology worked well, we believe that there is always a smarter way to work. Aware of the high energy costs of cold chain facility operations, we looked for ways of boosting performance and efficiency without compromising the quality of our service and risking cost efficiency. We saw opportunities in converting our warehouse power source to solar energy,” added Sarmiento.