Staycold International collaborates with SABS

Staycold International have recently collaborated with SABS (South African Bureau of Standards) to verify, validate and sign off on all their in-house collected data from their test chamber facility, at their factory in Parys, Free State.

The formal testing of commercial refrigeration designed with natural gasses on safety and performance is not yet available in South Africa, so third party witnessing is important for data validation. This process strictly follows the principles of the international ISO 22044:2021 refrigeration standard.

The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) is the national standards body responsible for the development, promotion, and maintenance of standards in South Africa. Established to ensure quality, safety, and performance across various industries, SABS plays a key role in the certification and testing of products and services, ensuring compliance with international and local standards.

By offering technical support and guidance, SABS helps companies meet local and international regulatory requirements, drive innovation, and enhance consumer confidence.

The discussion with SABS started in October last year and in parallel with Staycold focussing on building capacity in their R&D Department. This department is headed up by Bernard Juckers, Director of Innovation & Product Development, who drives continued improvement and compliance with international and local standards.

The test chamber measures aspects such as energy efficiency of the unit in 41-degree heat at 70% humidity and if the unit can handle certain airflow. Tests are done on the durability of doors and lids, i.e. the door of the cooler be subjected to 100 000 opening and closing door cycles, to simulate the opening of a door by a customer to remove a cold drink.

Staycold’s test chamber facility at their factory in Parys, Free State.

With the international drive to Net Zero by 2050 and the Climate Act of 2024 now signed and in process of being implemented, industry requires access to locally based ISO 17025 approved laboratories. Larger international manufacturers have the location benefit as well as financial resources to access the European laboratories, so this collaboration helps all parties to develop and access these resources locally.

Currently, Staycold send their cabinets to SGS’s laboratory in Turkey for it to be assessed and tested full IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) testing of hydrocarbon refrigerant units to IEC 60335 to obtain their Letter of Authority (LOA) that is issued by the National Regulator of Compulsory Standards (NRCS) in South Africa.

Staycold will continue with this and now SABS third party witnessing, for data validation until the SA market has these resources.

Lena le Roux, MD of Staycold International was excited about this new collaboration and commented: “It is important to have the national regulatory assisting and acknowledging the importance credible data plays in the commercial refrigeration industry. It is very important to educate the market on what questions to ask and how to interpret data. We are enthusiastic about these win-win discussions.”