Critical Cargo Care

I am really excited to announce a new personal sponsor who has so generously decided to help me (along with Craigs Investment Partners) to get through my 2013  racing year.

Russell and Sharon Jackman, along with their son Daniel Jackman run a fascinating business called Critical Cargo Care. Sharon and Russell wanted to help  financially support a young Athlete who had set their heart on the Olympics as a goal,  and thanks to Greg and Richard from Tauranga Cycling Club, I was the one they chose to help support.

I was given the opportunity to visit their business a few days ago and see what happens and how it all works. I have come home absolutely astounded by what I have seen, and how little I take into account what goes on behind the scene at the Port of Tauranga.

After meeting with Russell I got taken into the office and introduced to some of the awesome team at CCC. Some young, down to earth men who were extremely interested in what I do. I was then shown what they do, and my job seemed A LOT easier.

What Critical Cargo Care does is they take care of all the Ports refrigerated cargo. From food products such as meat or fruit, to plants - it’s a lot of containers, and a lot of pressure to get it right! Some of the containers have up to 1 million dollars of product in just the one container!!

The shipper provides CCC with information on what temperature the container must be at. Once the container arrives they are connected and set up to the shippers’ requirements and are then constantly monitored throughout the stay at the Port. Once it is time to go CCC will know when the containers are able to be unplugged before heading onto a ship, train or truck for the next stop.

I was given the opportunity to go in one of the massive forklifts/moving thing on wheels (no idea what it was called, but it was huge! And I had to climb a big ladder to get to the top). Then I went along with one of CCC’s normal days of work where we picked up containers, then dropped them onto the back of a truck, or picked it up from the truck. I could not believe how someone in this tiny box on the side of this MASSIVE crane was able to drop the container right between the lines or into the perfect spot on the truck. It was very impressive and a pretty cool experience!

I am so excited about the new relationship with CCC and cannot thank them enough for their support. I also now have a new found respect for how much it takes to get things like apples or international fruits like mangos onto the supermarket shelf. It doesn’t just appear, it involves a huge process and hard work to get there.

 Above are some photos of my trip, on the top are the crazy cool cranes on wheels that I sat on (yup, I climbed all the way up there, on a ladder!), then on the right is the tiny little glass-type box that the driver and I sat in. In the middle is taking a container off the truck and at the bottom is our awesome work, a loaded truck!

Thanks Russell, Sharon, Daniel and the awesome staff from CCC, you are helping make my 2013 year a successful one and keep me on my road to Rio =)