The International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses serves as the unified voice of the global cold storage industry. IARW provides members with operational benchmarks, facility design standards, energy efficiency guidelines, and warehouse management best practices.

Cold Chain Relevance: IARW focuses specifically on the cold storage link in the cold chain—the critical nodes where temperature-controlled goods are held between production and distribution. South African cold storage operators use IARW resources for facility planning, including racking configurations, blast freezing specifications, and multi-temperature zone design. The association’s technical committees develop standards for warehouse throughput calculations, energy consumption benchmarks (critical given South Africa’s electricity costs), and inventory management for perishable goods. For operators planning new facilities or upgrading existing cold stores, IARW provides the engineering and operational frameworks that inform capital investment decisions.