Breda, Netherlands-headquartered NewCold Advanced Cold Logistics is investing $90 million to build a 140-foot-high, 25-million-cubic foot sub-zero cold storage facility in Burley, Idaho. Scheduled to open in the spring of 2019, it will be one of the largest refrigerated warehouses of its kind in the United States.
“Providing state-of-the-art, conveniently located cold storage is a critical part of keeping Idaho frozen food producers’ operating costs down and our state’s value-added products competitive in the dynamic global market,” said Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter. “This huge new addition to our food distribution chain will help keep Idaho on the leading edge of innovation when it comes to farm-to-market efficiency and delivering high-quality foods to the world.”
“Idaho is looking to benefit from this technologically advanced collaborative effort. It has partnered with us throughout the process and has proven to be valuable in establishing our second location in the United States,” said Jonas Swarttouw, NewCold’s manager in the US. “We are excited to offer a competitive edge to existing and new Idaho food processors, and provide jobs in robotic software, systems operations and automation in Burley.”
From the moment pallets enter the building, conveyors and automated storage and robotic retrieval systems handle them with minimal manual interference as they are positioned within a massive system of racks. Prior to distribution to end users, the pallets are automatically transported to loading areas for outbound shipment.
“This is an important day as we welcome NewCold and serve as home to the nation’s largest European-style frozen storage facility,” said Doug Manning, economic development director for the City of Burley. “As processors in our region continue to grow, this highly automated, energy efficient warehouse will support the frozen storage needs of current and future Idaho businesses for decades to come. I really think this is going to be a game changer not only for Burley, but for the entire region.”
The warehouse will have a rail spur connected to Watco’s short line rail facility next door. Its “perishable express” transport option cuts days off normal delivery schedules, providing an advantage to customers seeking improved storage and distribution of frozen products.
About Burley and NewCold
Situated on the banks of the Snake River in Cassia County, Burley is the third largest city in southern Idaho. It has easy highway access to the Seattle/Portland area as well as Denver, Salt Lake City and northern California. The region boasts a large and growing agricultural sector and is home to a major McCain Foods frozen potato processing factory and DOT Foods, the largest redistributor of food products in the United States.
NewCold operates a European network of large scale automated cold stores and refrigerated transport serving frozen food producers, employing 750 people in France, Germany, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Poland. It also has refrigerated warehouses in Melbourne suburb of Truganina, Australia, and in Tacoma, Washington.
