Client:
Manawatu Cold Storage

Timeframe:
May 2025.

Manawatu Cold Storage (Mancold) operates large-scale cold storage facilities in the lower half of New Zealand’s North Island. Blast freezing was added in the late 2010s to better support the export-focused meat producers of the region.

Mancold has the capacity to freeze and store 75,000 tonnes of primary produce, making electricity a mission-critical input, as well as a major component of the company’s operating expenses.

Service Provided:

Maintaining continuity of supply when Mancold was forced to find a new energy supplier at very short notice, at a time when $50 million worth of export meat was at risk

Benefits Realised:

Uninterrupted supply to the company’s operations during the transition to a new site and new energy supplier. In the process, Energy Select identified an error in Mancold’s invoicing and negotiated a six-figure refund.

How Energy Select helped Mancold avoid a business meltdown.

The fertile farmlands of the lower North Island produce hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of export-quality meat, dairy and horticultural produce every year. But none of it would have much value without access to reliable cold chain logistics.

That’s the job of Mancold. Based in Feilding (where it is the town’s third largest employer), Mancold provides blast-freezing and end-to-end cold chain management for highly perishable goods.

Since 2015, the company has worked with Energy Select, which is the specialist procurement consultancy of Smart Power. Energy Select’s Dayton Taylor has become a trusted adviser to the business, helping it navigate the complexities of the New Zealand energy market, with its myriad tariffs and contractual complexities.

New site, new issues.

In mid 2025 Mancold was preparing to add further blast freezing and storage capacity with a state-of-the-art new site to supplement the existing site. All was going to schedule – but then the business was dealt a succession of wild cards.

First, the New Zealand energy regulatory authority served notice that Mancold’s current supply arrangements would be terminated, and the company shifted to a new supplier due to a regulatory breach by their supplier. Mancold alerted Dayton Taylor, who was able to spring into action and confirm continuity of supply at short notice.

As if this wasn’t enough, it was then discovered that the energy supply to the new site had somehow been switched on without an active ICP (Installation Control Point – the unique identifier, used to determine the connection to the national grid). This should be theoretically impossible, yet it had slipped through the net. There was the very real risk of Mancold’s electricity supply being terminated with no warning.

Mancold Director Paul Ayers was understandably concerned: “We had somehow found ourselves in a situation, through no fault of our own, where $50 million dollars of our clients’ export meat orders were at risk.

‍“The self-assessment tool gave us an early indication of the outcome before we spent a lot of money. It meant we weren’t flying blind, and we could quickly commit to the next steps.”

Activating our expertise in the energy industry.

Energy Select’s Dayton Taylor used his knowledge of the industry and his high-level contacts to notify and work with all the relevant parties. In this way, Mancold was able to avoid a complaint being made to the authorities. This bought some time – but the clock was ticking.

The next step was to sign a new contract for supply, this time with the necessary ICP in place. Dayton Taylor worked with Mancold’s General Manager, Brent Cawthray, to set up a short-term contract so the new site could start handling that season’s big orders.

Current conditions in the energy market meant there was a risk of committing Mancold to a costly contract, so Energy Select advised Mancold to wait out the price spike, and then sign a longer-term contract on more favourable terms.

“By arranging a short-term contract, and then waiting until price conditions improved, we were able to lock in long term savings,” Dayton says.

The unexpected bonus: a six-figure saving.

In the process of getting to the bottom of the supply issue, Energy Select spotted an invoicing error. Mancold had mistakenly been double-charged for its power supply during the transitional period

This error was reversed as a result of Energy Select’s analysis of invoices and consumption figures. The energy company reversed the charge and Mancold banked a refund in the vicinity of $250,000. Paul Ayers says the whole episode was stressful to live through, but he’s thrilled with the outcome:

“Energy Select has been outstanding. They removed the uncertainty and acted fast at a time when it wasn’t clear what our options were.

“Our business is cold storage, and our customers depend on us to never let them down. If the freezers go offline, millions of dollars of perishable produce could go to waste.

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“We’ve been able to grow our business, navigate the unexpected and operate more efficiently, thanks to the service we get from Energy Select.”