Interview with Corey Rosenbusch, Vice President, Global Cold Chain Alliance

The Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA), an umbrella organization which aims at creating partnerships among associations, governments, institutions, and private companies spanning each link of the cold chain, was officially launched in April 2007. The Alliance comprises the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses, the World Food Logistics Organization, the International Refrigerated Transportation Association and the International Association for Cold Storage Construction, its Core Partners. It now acts as the platform for communication, networking and education for the perishable food industry, allowing for the sharing of information about best practices, government affairs, trends, economic development, and investment opportunities. Its ultimate goal: to serve as the focused voice of the cold chain industry.

Corey Rosenbusch, who holds a Masters of Education degree in International Education with a concentration in international development from Harvard University and a Bachelors of Science degree in Agricultural Education from Texas A&M University, is the Vice President of the Global Cold Chain Alliance since last November 2007. He was formerly the Senior Director of Policy & Programs and has been with the Alliance for two years. Before joining the Alliance, Rosenbusch served as project director of a cold chain development program in Indonesia. He also served as an international development consultant in the Ukraine, Indonesia, Afghanistan, and El Salvador in the fields of, among others, cold chain development. Before that, he served as President & CEO of the Rosenbusch Institute of Leadership.

1- How has the cold chain industry responded to the Global Cold Chain Alliance initiative?

Our membership, which represents temperature-controlled third party logistics providers from around the world, and the perishable food industry has showed overwhelming support of the mission and activities of the Global Cold Chain Alliance  since its launch. Beyond our Core Partners (the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses, the World Food Logistics Organization, the International Refrigerated Transportation Association, and the International Association for Cold Storage Construction), we’ve attracted almost 100 partners from the food industry, the trade press, and affiliate trade associations from around the world.

2- What are the Alliance’s main achievements since its creation in April 2007?

Since the launch in 2007, we’ve expanded our international outreach efforts by establishing offices in China and Guatemala to better serve members and the industry at large, adding to our existing offices in Europe, India, and the United States.

We were pleased to have the Refrigerated Warehouse and Transportation Association of Australia (RWTA) join the Alliance as an Affiliate Partner. In August, the Alliance jointly hosted a conference and exhibition with the RWTA that was held in Queensland, Australia and attracted a slew of international and Australian cold chain professionals.

In April 2007, the Alliance partnered with USAID and the Louisiana State University AgCenter Program to help Nicaraguan food processors improve their profitability. Two specialists from the World Food Logistics Organization visited three facilities: Pollo Estrella, Nicalapia and Nova Terra. This initial visit acquired benchmark information and provided targeted, plant based technical training.

The Alliance participated and co-sponsored the Colombian Cold Chain Congress in Medellin, Colombia in September. Over 200 cold chain professionals from Colombia and the rest of South America attended the conference to examine the region’s market and cold chain capacity. Discussions are now underway for a national cold chain association in Colombia.

The World Food Logistics Organization sent Arne J. Martinsen, an expert in shipping, transportation and international logistics, to the FREIGHT-2007: Container Transportation in Russia and the Neighboring States conference in St. Petersburg, Russia. From his trip, Martinsen developed a report on infrastructure challenges at the Port of St. Petersburg and explored opportunities in Russia for our member companies.

The Alliance is part of an exciting new initiative aimed at improving the infrastructure and operations of the cold chain in India. Supported by the United States Trade and Development Agency and organized under the framework of the U.S.-India Agricultural Knowledge Initiative, the program offers technical assistance, a training program that includes a workshop series to be held in four key regions of India, and a study tour to the United States. So far the program has held workshops in Mumbai and Chennai.

The Global Cold Chain Alliance recently conducted four training seminars in Mumbai, Calcutta, New Delhi, and Chennai as part of a program sponsored by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). The Alliance developed the content and curriculum with its local India representative and Alliance members worked with members of the WFLO Scientific Advisory Council and The Peoples Group, an international consulting firm, to conduct the training.

A total of 220 people attended the workshops, including many high-level executives. They represented a large number of the biggest and most active companies involved in cold chain development in India, as well as a large number of small- and medium-scale firms in the cold chain industry.

The Alliance has also continued its partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Cochran Fellows program, which brings executives to the United States from other nations to learn about operations and best practices, allowing them to use this knowledge in their own operations. Last month, the Alliance hosted a dozen cold chain executives from China visiting the United States as part of the program. The Chinese executives began their visit at the IARW-WFLO-IRTA Annual Convention, where they attended a range of educational sessions and met with executives from leading public refrigerated warehouse companies. The group then traveled across the state of Florida on a cold chain study tour to see how several modern cold storage facilities employ different designs, use different technologies for refrigeration (Ammonia vs. Freon), and the effective use of space in staging areas.

Finally, the Alliance helped supply much-needed human breast milk to needy babies in two African nations. The Alliance, working through member companies of the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses teamed with The International Breast Milk Project to plan the safe transport of 55,000 ounces of breast milk from the United States to Durban, South Africa. Half the milk was also scheduled to be shipped to Arusha, Tanzania, for use in that nation.

3- What projects are currently being developed by the Alliance?

This autumn, the Alliance will be holding two very important international educational programs.

The Global Cold Chain China Summit at the Westin Bund Center in Shanghai, China (October 28-29, 2008) will bring together top cold chain and food industry professionals for a uniquely designed program that will foster business development and provide essential educational programming. The first day will include a full afternoon of China Market Intelligence Programs for non-Chinese participants and a Warehouse Operations Short Course for Chinese participants. On the following morning, participants will be invited to tour Chinese facilities and learn firsthand about the Chinese cold chain. For more information, visit http://www.gcca.org/cnsummit.

The Alliance will also be holding the second South Africa Short Course, which provides an in-depth warehouse operations short course to South African warehouse operators. The first course held February 2007 in Stellenbosch, South Africa was a collaborative effort between the World Food Logistics Organization, the University of Stellenbosch, the South African Refrigeration Distribution Association, and Louisiana State University and attracted a total of 44 participants from South Africa and Namibia. 

4- How is the Alliance contributing to the improvement of the cold chain industry in countries where it is starting to be implemented, such as India and China (technology, standards, best practices, etc.)?

As you can see from our accomplishments in 2007, we’ve made great strides in developing the cold chain in emerging markets. Providing national industry professionals with the knowledge to successfully implement an unbroken cold chain is one of our highest priorities.

5- One of the Alliance’s goals is to promote cold chain education. Which was the most significant result of the 11th edition of the European Cold Chain Education Program? What will be highlighted in the next edition?

The 11th European Cold Chain Education Program held in Amsterdam in February turned out to be a record-breaking event. With over 160 warehouse operators, suppliers and other industry representatives and a sold-out trade show, the two day program was the highest attended in the history of the event.

Under the theme: “Back 2 Basics: Safe, efficient, and profitable cold storage and distribution," delegates from 18 European countries, the United States, Canada, Mexico, South Africa, and Iran chose between 30 presentations on operations, government affairs, and trends and development. At the end of the program, delegates toured the Frigo Terminal Velsen of Daalimpex Logistics.

6- How do you expect the cold chain industry to evolve? What will be the trends of the future?

There is a growing demand amongst consumers worldwide for convenience, exotic tastes, and a safe product. In fact, perishable foods are the largest and fastest growing sector of agricultural trade and the most profitable on a per kilo basis. Retailers will increase frozen food space up to 25 percent of their square footage by 2010.

While we saw a move towards buying locally in 2007, we also saw the rising trend of consumers wanting exotic flavors and products on their dinner tables. As a result, trade has significantly globalized in the last ten years. As an example, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer recently announced that U.S. agricultural exports are forecasted to reach a record $101 billion for fiscal year 2008, up $10 billion from November's forecast and an unprecedented $19 billion above 2007. Even with the weakening dollar, we expect global exports and imports to continue to rise.

7- How will the Alliance contribute to its advancement?

The Alliance fulfils an essential need. The cold chain has become immensely complex. With increasing integration of business models and expanding global trade, the need to establish core competencies and best practices had to become our industry’s top priority. It is our mission to facilitate communication, networking and education for the perishable food industry because, as we often say, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.