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By Rachel Harvie, chief executive, NZ Cold Storage Association
Having just returned home from
the Australian RWTA (Refrigerated
Warehouse and Transporters
Association) conference, I am full
of the enthusiasm that often
comes with the sharing of ideas
at such events.
 This feeling of enthusiasm was
also bolstered by the numerous
motivational speakers who
rallied the audience to be the
‘best’, the ‘fastest’, the ‘cheapest’
and the ‘newest’ – to push your
boundaries, to recognise that
‘average never wins’ and more.
My fellow Kiwis and I certainly
knew which side of the Tasman
we were on!
One of the key features of the
RWTA conference for me was the
Frank Vale Award. This award is
made to a young person (under
35 years) who has demonstrated
excellence in the cold storage/
transport industries. Entrants are
nominated by their employers,
then make their way through
a series of state selections. The
five state winners must then
present themselves to the RWTA
conference audience as well as go
through an interview and presentation
session in order for judges
to decide an ultimate winner. The
winner receives a $5000 travel
prize to attend the Global Cold
Chain Alliance Conference held
in the US.
Based on the presentations made
to the conference, the judging
session must have been (and was
said to be) extremely difficult. All
five young people showed great
confi dence and talked of their careers
with great passion – most of
them having started at the bottom
rung of the business and worked
their way up, taking all opportunities
offered to them. The winner,
Lauren Cavasin from Bidvest in
Queensland, was presented with
her award amid the glitz and
glamour of the gala dinner.
So – who was Frank Vale? He is
known as one of the pioneering
figures of the Australian cold
storage industry and the Victorian
dairy factory industry. He is
credited with helping to establish
the current cold storage industry
and the establishment of the Cold
Storage Association of Australia
– the forerunner of the RWTA.
In particular, he introduced the
use of pre-fabricated cool room
construction with insulation, and
forced draught systems as opposed
to bare pipe evaporators.
The changes revolutionised the
Australian cold storage industry.
Frank was 97 when he died in
2006, but he obviously remains as
an example of the pioneering and
innovative spirit that the Frank
Vale Award entrants continue to
aspire to.
And now, with the continual cry
from industry here that it is difficult
to attract young people to
our industry, I am wondering if
there is room in the cold storage
sector for a similar motivational
award scheme that could be
introduced. I have no doubt
that there are young people
in our industry who would be
great role models for others,
both within and outside the
sector and who would be able
to present the sector as one
that has a variety of challenging
career options.
I put this out there for all association
members to consider,
and will raise it as part of our
own conference in Wellington in
October this year.
Let me know
what you think.
Rachel Harvie can be contacted at
nzcoldstorage@xtra.co.nz |
