Americold Realty Trust, the world’s largest owner and operator of refrigerated warehouses, announced the official opening of its new facility in Middleborough, Massachusetts, USA, on August 27.
Designed in partnership with Ocean Spray, it can rapidly freeze up to 79,000,000 pounds of cranberries to preserve the fruit’s freshness, flavor, and health benefits. The site features three temperature-controlled rooms and a loading dock with 165,000 square feet of capacity.
“Americold and Ocean Spray have shared the same commitment to operational excellence and customer satisfaction for decades. This facility represents the best of both companies: state-of- the-art, uninterrupted temperature-controlled supply chain integrity and efficiency with nutritious, high-quality food,” commented Fred Boehler, president and ceo of Atlanta, Georgia-headquartered Americold.
Celebrating the official opening of the new cold storage facility are (left to right): Dennis Ford, Americold director of business development; Fred Boehler, Americold president and ceo; Earl Larson, Ocean Spray vice president for global supply chain and operations; Frank Lasorsa, operations planning manager at Ocean Spray; Paul Leminen, Ocean Spray’s logistics manager; and Dan Gayford, Americold vice president of business development.
Ocean Spray, an agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 cranberry farmers in the United States, Canada and Chile, is the world’s leading producer of cranberry juices, juice drinks and dried cranberries, and boasts the best-selling brand in the North American bottled juice category. Formed in 1930, the organization employs more than 2,000 people and operates nearly 20 cranberry receiving and processing facilities.
The desire to quickly freeze such large volumes of product necessitated significant refrigeration horsepower. Americold’s engineering team provided a solution that met Ocean Spray’s exacting specifications for both present needs and requirements in the foreseeable future.
“We have partnered for close to 40 years, and the Middleborough site represents the latest addition to our ongoing strategic relationship,” said Earl Larson, global supply chain and operations vice president at Ocean Spray.
The new warehouse, Americold’s fifth in Massachusetts, joins other facilities in Boston, Taunton, and two in Gloucester. This brings the company’s total capacity to almost 19 million cubic feet in the state.
