Woolworths Heathwood
ISECO is currently working on a refrigeration system for the $148 million Woolworths Distribution Centre in Heathwood QLD which will facilitate the storage, freezing and distribution of packaged meat and chilled products for over 260 stores across the state. Over 2 million cartons a week will be processed through the Heathwood DC running at full capacity
The facility has a large freezer pallet warehouse and several low temperature blast-freezer rooms, going as low as -30 oC, in addition to chilled warehouse spaces and temperature controlled staging areas. Since energy efficiency was a high priority, the plant incorporates a heat recovery system to use waste heat for floor heating and cooler defrost. The freezer doorways were also dehumidified to reduce ice build-up and save the extra power that would be required to get rid of it. As requested by Woolworths, provisions were made to expand the chilled storage in the future and the current chiller area was designed in a way to allow it to be used as a freezer as needed.
The Heathwood Distribution Centre is targeting a 5-Star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia, with a major solar panel system on the roof and charge points for electric trucks. It is co-located with a production facility for Hilton Foods Australia, Woolworths’ meat supplier, and is expected to open in 2022.
