Shopping for groceries online and picking them up from cabinets scattered on strategic locations in the city is already a reality in many countries of the Americas, Europe and Oceania. And behind it all is a Brazilian technology developed by Full Gauge Controls, a manufacturer of instruments for air conditioning, refrigeration, solar heating, and heating. The company exports to a Chinese industry responsible for manufacturing the cabinets. The great differential of the product is that it offers stations for frozen and chilled goods, ensuring the conservation of all types of food.

According to the deputy manager of the Chinese industry responsible for manufacturing the equipment, the fact of offering the possibility of remote management of the facilities is very important for the customers: the companies that acquire and manage these pickup stations. One of the features of Full Gauge Controls' Sitrad PRO is the delivery of alarms whenever a parameter is outside of a previously established range. One of these companies once received alarms sent by the system, which reported a rise in the temperature inside the cabinets. Immediately they acted on the cause of the problem, preventing the stored products from being wasted.

In the cabinet structure, the Chinese manufacturer chose to use the controller TC-900E Log for frozen goods and MT-512E Log for chilled goods, both connected to Sitrad PRO, to offer the possibility of controlling the operation of each facility remotely. The system is available for free. To have access to the information you only need one device (tablet, computer or mobile phone) connected to the Internet and Full Gauge Controls controllers in the facility. "Applications like this one reinforce that we are on the right path, with our instruments facilitating the routine of people around the world," says Rodnei Peres, commercial vice-director of Full Gauge Controls. For Peres, it is important to point out that the company is going in the opposite direction of most manufacturers, as it exports technology to the Chinese, in addition to being present in more than 63 countries.

The product developed about four years ago is now marketed to countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and Chile, as well as several markets in Europe. Usually the pickup stations, composed of several units, are located at strategic points of selected cities. For the end user, the process is quite simple: just shop online as usual and then choose where you would like to pick the goods up at checkout. The buyer receives an e-mail with a pickup code and enters this code upon arriving at the established station, which then opens the correct door. It is a fast and safe operation, which relies on Brazilian technology to simplify the life of the consumer.