Automated pallet freezer storage, Cootamundra NSW.

Cold-chain automation, designed for −27°C.

Pac Technologies engineered and delivered a fully automated freezer storage and retrieval system for an abattoir in Cootamundra, NSW — a giant vending machine for pallets, running at −27 °C with no humans inside. The dual-elevator design and modular control logic mean a maintenance event on one lift doesn't take the building offline.

Industry

Cold-chain / Food & Beverage

Service

Programming & commissioning

Location

Cootamundra, NSW

Operating temp

−27°C

Control

Siemens S7-1500 F · WinCC HMI

Integration

WMS · barcode · weight validation

Sub-zero, safety-critical, always on.

Cold-chain abattoir storage doesn't forgive downtime. A single elevator fault can strand product mid-shift, and every minute a door is open is energy lost and product integrity at risk. The customer needed a system that ran continuously through the working day at −27°C, kept human operators out of the freezer entirely, and stayed online if a single piece of mechanical hardware failed.

Beyond uptime, the system had to handshake cleanly with the existing WMS so every pallet in the building could be located and audited in real time, and meet the safety expectations of a facility where operators do still occasionally enter the zone for service work.

Two elevators, nine levels, one control system.

At the heart of the system are two high-performance pallet elevators, nine storage levels, and a network of precision-controlled conveyors, transfer systems, and shuttles. Pallets are loaded at ground level, automatically dimensioned, scanned, and verified against the Warehouse Management System before entering the freezer. The WMS directs each pallet to an optimal storage position, keeping traceability and inventory accuracy live in real time.

Every movement — from infeed to storage to retrieval — is coordinated by a Siemens S7-1500 F PLC and a custom WinCC interface, giving operators complete visibility and control. The redundant dual-elevator architecture allows either lift to perform infeed or outfeed duties, maintaining continuous operation through maintenance windows or component downtime.

PLC

Siemens S7-1500 F (safety)

HMI

Custom WinCC interface

Motion

Two pallet elevators · transfer cars · shuttles

Storage

Nine vertical levels

Identification

Barcode + weight validation

Safety

Light curtains · monitored doors · E-stops · interlocks

Continuous flow, no one in the freezer.

The finished system runs an end-to-end pallet flow from induction to dispatch with no manual handling in the cold zone. Throughput is constant, cold-chain integrity is auditable for every pallet, and the dual-elevator redundancy means a maintenance event on one lift doesn't take the building offline.

• Increased throughput — continuous, automated pallet flow reduces manual handling and idle time.
• Improved safety — minimal human exposure to −27 °C and moving equipment.
• Enhanced product integrity — rapid, controlled transfers maintain cold-chain compliance.
• Reduced downtime — dual-elevator redundancy and diagnostic HMI screens minimise disruption.
• Scalable & customisable — modular control logic adapts for future expansions or additional lines.