Kiwi temperature-controlled logistics company Big Chill Distribution, together with Tainui Group Holdings, marked the official opening of a new purpose-built cool storage facility at the Ruakura Superhub in Hamilton.
The 32,200m2 facility on three hectares of Waikato-Tainui land will hold up to 16,500 pallets of chilled and frozen food ready for distribution to retail and food service businesses by Big Chill’s network of 180 temperature-controlled trucks and trailers.
Big Chill was acquired by listed company Freightways in 2020 and the new facility is the second investment the business has made to scale up Big Chill’s operations in the national delivery and 3PL & 4PL space.
At 490 hectares in total, the Ruakura Superhub is one of New Zealand’s largest multi-use developments, equivalent to the size of Auckland’s CBD. Located at the nexus of the “golden triangle” between Auckland and Tauranga, the Superhub is anchored by the Ruakura Inland Port.
Big Chill general manager Phil Clarke said the new site allows the company to better service its customers far wider than the Bay of Plenty and Auckland regions alone.
“We’ve been able to increase our warehousing capacity by 30% at Ruakura and can now increase same day and overnight delivery services. We chose the site for its location and increased access to a comprehensive network of road and rail,” Clarke said.
“It means we can spread the load between not only our Putaruru and Auckland depots, but all eleven of our facilities across the country to give our customers a more efficient storage and delivery service.”
The facility, which is leased long-term to Big Chill, took 24 months to build from breaking ground to its soft opening in October 2023.
“Since we got the keys last year, the customer demand and transition into Ruakura has exceeded expectations, and now that we’re officially open, we expect to move an average of 68 20-foot containers per week via rail alone. The super site has created a high level of interest for businesses that service the chilled and frozen food sector,” said Clarke.
“Having the inland port and State Highway 1 a stone’s throw away is creating efficiencies we couldn’t have achieved at our other depots.”
Tainui Group Holdings chair Hinerangi Raumati-Tu’ua said the benefits already being experienced by Big Chill are very much in line with the original premise for developing the superhub in this location.
“Ruakura Superhub is all about enabling a significantly more efficient transport supply chain network that benefits our tenants, their customers and ultimately the New Zealand public, so it’s rewarding to see the immediate gains it is delivering,” she said.
Big Chill’s acquisition by Freightways in 2020 has scaled up its operations by opening two new purpose-built facilities bringing the company’s nationwide total to 11, increasing its team and investing in a new transport management system and new fleet. Forty-five new jobs were created at the Ruakura site, which will accommodate the company’s next ten years of growth.
