12,000 m³ seafood cold storage & blast freezer — Vietnam
An export-grade seafood processor needed a multi-temperature facility combining IQF tunnels, blast freezers and long-term storage to meet EU/Japan buyer requirements.
Challenge
- Existing facility could not blast-freeze shrimp fast enough for export specs.
- Energy costs rising 14% year-on-year on R22 plant nearing end-of-life.
- HACCP and BRCGS audit gaps on temperature traceability.
ColdMatch solution
- ColdMatch sourced 3 shortlisted EPCs from Korea, Italy and Vietnam.
- Selected NH₃/CO₂ cascade plant with IoT monitoring (logger + cloud).
- Phased construction allowed processing to continue during build.
“ColdMatch handled the EPC tender across three countries — the savings paid for the upgrade in under four years.”
How this project was delivered — planning to commissioning
Multi-country EPC tender, phased construction on a live site. Total programme: 19 months, concept to full production.
- 1
Planning & feasibility
Months 1–4- Throughput study across shrimp, pangasius and value-added lines, including seasonal peaks.
- Heat-load and freezing-curve modelling to size blast capacity against export specifications.
- Capex and operating-cost case built for three plant architectures before any supplier contact.
Milestone: Approved technical brief and budget envelope signed off by the board.
- 2
Permitting & approvals
Months 4–7- Provincial construction and industrial-zone approvals for the extension footprint.
- Ammonia handling permit, safety distance study and emergency response plan.
- Environmental discharge and refrigerant registration filed with the authorities.
Milestone: Construction permit and ammonia safety approval issued.
- 3
Procurement & build-out
Months 7–15- Three shortlisted EPCs from Korea, Italy and Vietnam tendered on one common specification.
- Panel envelope, NH₃/CO₂ cascade plant room and IQF tunnels installed in two phases.
- Processing kept running throughout by sequencing the works around production windows.
Milestone: Mechanical completion of both phases with the plant charged and leak-tested.
- 4
Testing & validation
Months 15–18- Pull-down and freezing-curve testing against contractual blast-cycle times.
- Temperature mapping of every chamber, loaded and unloaded, across 72-hour cycles.
- HACCP and BRCGS traceability evidence assembled from the IoT logger platform.
Milestone: Performance guarantees verified and audit pack accepted.
- 5
Commissioning & handover
Months 18–19- Operator training on plant control, alarm response and defrost strategy.
- Spares package, service contract and remote monitoring handover.
- 12-month energy benchmark baseline agreed with the operator.
Milestone: Facility handed over in full production with warranty and service plan active.
This project sits under the Develop a Food Processing Cold Chain objective. Start from the objective hub to scope capacity, permitting and budget before engaging suppliers.
Project brief → RFQ package → supplier outreach → outcome
Every ColdMatch project follows the same managed sequence. Nothing reaches a supplier before David has reviewed the brief and confirmed the project scope, budget and timeline.
1. Project brief
- Submitted via
- RFQ builder — seafood processing / blast freezing
- Review
- Reviewed manually by David before any supplier was contacted
Clarified before outreach
- Peak shrimp intake per shift and required core-temperature curve for EU/Japan buyers.
- Whether the existing R22 plant would be decommissioned or run in parallel during build.
- Available electrical capacity on site and the cost of upgrading the transformer.
Qualification checks
- Budget envelope above the USD $250K project threshold (indicated US$ 3.5–4.5M).
- Board-approved capex window and a named technical owner on the buyer side.
- Export certification deadline fixed the commissioning date.
2. RFQ package issued
Single common specification issued to all shortlisted EPCs on the same day
Documents in the pack
- Heat-load and freezing-curve calculation pack (12,000 m³ storage, −40 °C blast).
- Room schedule with temperatures, insulation targets and floor build-up.
- Phasing plan keeping the existing processing line in production.
- Commercial terms: payment milestones, LDs, spares and 24-month warranty.
Mandatory supplier returns
- Priced bill of quantities split civil / mechanical / controls.
- Guaranteed specific energy consumption (kWh/m³·yr) with test conditions.
- Refrigerant charge, safety study and local ammonia compliance approach.
- Named site team, references for at least two comparable export plants.
3. Managed supplier outreach
- Approached
- 9 refrigeration EPCs pre-screened (Korea, Italy, Vietnam, Thailand)
- Shortlisted
- 3 invited to tender after ColdMatch technical pre-qualification
- Round 1 — capability screen
Reference plants, ammonia experience, local service presence and financial standing checked before any buyer contact.
- Round 2 — technical tender
Common specification issued; clarification log run centrally so all bidders answered the same questions.
- Round 3 — commercial alignment
Bids normalised to like-for-like scope, then energy guarantees and spares pricing negotiated.
Evaluation weighting
- Guaranteed energy performance
- 30%
- Technical compliance & blast capacity
- 30%
- Price (normalised scope)
- 25%
- Local service & spares response
- 15%
4. Commercial outcome
NH₃/CO₂ cascade plant awarded to the mid-priced bidder on energy guarantees, not lowest price
Delivered results
- −38% energy versus the legacy R22 plant.
- −45% blast cycle time, meeting EU/Japan export specifications.
- US$ 4.1M delivered capex with a 3.8-year payback.
Model a comparable plant with the cooling-load and OPEX calculators before submitting your brief.
Project records are anonymised at the buyer's request and presented as planning-grade benchmarks. Costs, timelines and performance figures are indicative and are not engineering designs or quotations.
Supplier and manufacturer listings are provided for research, transparency and discovery only. ColdMatch Group does not provide automatic buyer-supplier introductions. Every cold chain project request is reviewed manually by David / ColdMatch Group, and supplier introductions are made only after internal approval.