Kigali, Rwanda: Carrier Transicold is providing truck fridges, telematics, and training to help advance cold chain development in East Africa as part of an agreement with the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chain.
An inauguration ceremony for the centre’s Kigali, Rwanda, site, was held this month and the first cold chain training classes were conducted. The centre is a first-of-its-kind hub for technical assistance and knowledge transfer for the cold chain.
By mid-2024, the centre will include a technology testing and demonstration centr, a fully equipped refrigeration and data telematics training site, classrooms, a conference centre and a 200-hectare smart farm.
The centre brings together multi-disciplinary expertise and commercial partners, including government, industry, and academia. It was originally initiated by the University of Birmingham and the United Nations Environmental Programme working to design transformative solutions with foundational funding from the UK government.
“Carrier Transicold is pleased to continue to collaborate with ACES to develop sustainable cold chain in the agriculture and health sectors throughout Africa,” said Vincent Blaising, managing director, external distribution, EMEA & southeast Asia, Carrier Transicold International Truck Trailer.
“This collaboration empowers individuals by helping them build valuable, lifelong skills, helping to support the local community, as well as actively developing a sustainable cold chain, leading to reduced food waste in the region.”
The Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chain has developed a foundation course to provide participants with an understanding of fundamental concepts, skills and knowledge within the food and pharma cold chains. The foundation course serves as a building block, preparing individuals for more advanced and specialised studies or practical applications.
Delivered by academic and industry partners, Carrier Transicold will conduct theoretical and practical professional trainings on cold chain and transport refrigeration systems. To support the programme, Carrier Transicold is providing two models of advanced truck refrigeration units for practical demonstrations and trainings, the Citimax 280 and the Supra HE 6, as well as Carrier’s connected cold chain solution Lynx Fleet telematics platform, offering end-to-end supply chain visibility, control and intelligence.
“Carrier Transicold is a key supporter of the institute. It is thanks to the global leadership and expertise of our collaborators that we are confident in the quality of the programs that will be available at ACES,” said Toby Peters, director, Centre for Sustainable Cooling, University of Birmingham and Heriot-Watt University. “Collaboration is key to reach our goal to optimise cold chain solutions for food and health in East Africa., he said.
Pictured above are Dr Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya and David Hill open the new centre.
