Chilled beverage, brewery and FMCG runs across Brendale
EZ Trans runs chilled and frozen transport for Brendale, Strathpine and Lawnton from our Kedron depot, about 18 km north via the Gympie Arterial. Our focus here is palletised beverage, brewery and FMCG freight, held in a steady chilled band rather than frozen, with onward legs to the Sunshine Coast.
Brendale is the working end of Moreton Bay. The estates off South Pine Road and Kremzow Road hold beverage producers, craft breweries, food manufacturers and packaging suppliers, and a large share of what leaves those docks has to stay cold until it reaches the customer. Our refrigerated transport work here is built around that mix rather than around general pallet freight.
Brendale sits roughly 18 km from our Castle Street depot at Kedron, about 18 to 25 minutes outside peak on the Gympie Arterial and Gympie Road. That short first leg matters for beverage and chilled grocery producers, because it leaves most of the temperature budget for the delivery leg, north to the Sunshine Coast or south into the Brisbane trade.
ShapingSEQ 2023, the South East Queensland Regional Plan, records that Brendale has emerged as the dominant economic component of the Strathpine-Brendale-Petrie regional economic cluster, with priority sectors that include manufacturing along with transport and logistics.
That concentration is what matters to a carrier. Craft breweries, drink producers, chilled food makers and packaging suppliers sit within a few streets of each other, so one collection round can take in three consignors without leaving the precinct.
Most collections sit between South Pine Road and Kremzow Road, with the rest around Sandstone Place and the frontages backing onto the Bruce Highway. North across the North Pine River we work Lawnton off Gympie Road, and Strathpine on both sides of the Caboolture rail line. Access varies unit by unit inside one estate, so we confirm a few things first.
Outbound, South Pine Road and the Gympie Arterial reach the Bruce Highway in minutes, which keeps Caboolture, Beerwah and chilled runs up to the Sunshine Coast inside a single driving leg. A load collected in the estates late morning is usually a coast delivery that afternoon, traffic and the receiver’s window allowing, which is how beverage producers here supply Caloundra and Maroochydore accounts without adding a second carrier.
Weight comes first. A pallet of canned or bottled drink hits its mass limit long before the vehicle runs out of floor, so a beverage run is planned around axle loading and pallet position rather than cubic space.
Canned and bottled stock brings its own handling rule. Cartons crush from the base up, so a beverage pallet will not take a second pallet on top the way a light frozen carton load will, and a mixed run is loaded in layers rather than double stacked. Shrink wrap tension matters for the same reason.
Kegs are the second difference: they roll, they are returnable assets, and they usually come back empty with a count agreed at both ends. The third is the band itself. Beer, cider and soft drink want a steady chilled hold, because a freeze damages carbonation, seals and packaging. Producers building distribution from a Brendale base can also use our sales assistance for small manufacturers.
Cooling packaging is wasted capacity, so a mixed brewery or FMCG load is split into bands before it is loaded.
| Band | Typical Brendale freight | Why it is chosen | What we manage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chilled | Kegs, craft beer, cider, fresh dairy | No freeze damage to carbonation or seals | Steady set point, chilled dropped first |
| Frozen | Frozen bakery, frozen meals, ice | Stable only below freezing | Pre-cooled space, quick dock transfers |
| Ambient or dry | Packaging, empty kegs, point of sale material | Nothing to gain from cooling | Restraint and crush protection |
Stock waiting between production and delivery can sit in refrigerated, ambient or dry storage instead of on a parked trailer.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand states that food transported under temperature control must be kept at 5C or colder, or hot at 60C or hotter. The Australian Cold Chain Guidelines, released by the Australian Food and Grocery Council in 2017, cover handling, transport and storage together, and FMCG buyers commonly write supplier requirements from that kind of framework.
We plan each run around the handling and temperature requirements of the freight: set point agreed before pickup, temperature recorded at handover, and chilled pallets sequenced to spend the least time at an open Brendale dock. Our post on why temperature-sensitive goods need dedicated handling covers the reasoning, and you can book a Brendale collection once the band and the window are settled.
Coming south from Brendale, follow Gympie Road or the Gympie Arterial through Chermside and Kedron, then turn off Gympie Road into Castle Street. The yard is at 2/21 Castle Street, roughly 18 km from the Brendale estates and about 18 to 25 minutes outside peak. Full directions to our Kedron depot cover access and turning room.
Every area we cover is listed on the service areas index.
About 18 km, roughly 18 to 25 minutes outside peak on the Gympie Arterial and Gympie Road. That short first leg is why Brendale beverage and chilled grocery loads keep most of their temperature budget for the delivery leg, north to the Sunshine Coast or south into Brisbane.
Yes. Keg work is a two-way movement, so the return leg goes into the same booking: full kegs out, empties and pallets back to Brendale, with a count agreed at both ends. Kegs travel chilled rather than frozen, and are restrained so they cannot roll on the highway leg.
Yes. The Strathpine-Brendale-Petrie pocket plus Bray Park, Warner and Cashmere sit inside the same run. Because most collections cluster in the Brendale estates, adding a Strathpine or Lawnton drop to an existing northside schedule is usually a sequencing question rather than a second vehicle.
The set point is agreed with the producer before pickup and held steady for the run. Food Standards Australia New Zealand requires food carried under temperature control to be kept at 5C or colder, and chilled drink freight is planned on the cold side of that without dropping into a damaging freeze.
Usually, yes. A brewery pallet run often pairs chilled product with ambient packaging, point of sale material or empty kegs going back. We separate the bands on the vehicle so shelf stable stock is not occupying cooled space, then quote the whole movement as one job.
Send the pickup address, the temperature band, the keg or pallet count and the drop window, and we will quote the run. Freight type, timing, distance and whether storage is involved all shape the quote.
