Maersk - Hamilton Cold Store

Client: AP Moller - Maersk
Location: Hamilton
Completed: February 2024
Area: 18000m²
Expertise: Cold Storage

The Maersk cold store project in Ruakura Inland Port near Hamilton seamlessly blends the latest in innovation, sustainability, and functionality. Apollo commenced design in early 2022, was on site in August 2022, and the 18,000m2 build on a 45,000m2 site was completed in February 2024. Some stages were handed over earlier and the design and build of this significant project was delivered on time and on budget.

Standout features of this world-class cold store facility include an innovative Transcritical CO2 refrigeration system, condensate recovery system for water reuse on the refrigeration cooling tower misters, extensive rainwater harvesting, and the use of lithium reach and forklifts for enhanced operational efficiency. A massive solar array generating over 1.52MW of renewable energy furthered sustainability efforts.

Sustainability was a significant area for consideration throughout this project. Featuring a fully integrated Building Management System (BMS) allows for full control of all services and the CO2 refrigeration system, which is understood to be one of the largest systems in the world, uses waste heat for heating the office and the underfloor glycol system. The building layout, led by Apollo, was instrumental in saving over 88 kilometres of reticulation piping for the facility which also had significant cost savings.

A project of this scale does not come without its challenges, most of which were caused by ongoing supply chain issues and inflation following Covid-19. Environmental challenges also meant our team were battling several heavy rainfalls during construction. Apollo worked constructively and collaboratively with the client and project management team to ensure that these issues did not impact the delivery of the project, with it still being delivered to schedule.

In summary, the Maersk Ruakura project sets a new standard for cold stores, highlighting Apollo's capability and commitment. Apollo's resilience, innovation, and sustainability features position it as a leading cold chain facility in New Zealand.