Novi, Michigan, USA-headquartered Lineage Logistics has acquired two coldstores from Van Soest Coldstores, a Netherlands-based company specializing in the storage and transfer of frozen and chilled food products. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Under terms of the agreement, Lineage purchased Van Soest’s facilities in Venlo, the Netherlands, and Rijkevorsel, Belgium, to complement its existing presence in both countries. Van Soest’s facility in Gamaren, Netherlands, a joint venture and newly formed business, was not part of the deal.
“Part of our strategy is to grow the Lineage facility network in strategic locations to provide our customers with best-in-class solutions that meet all of their cold storage and logistics needs. Bringing Van Soest Coldstores into the Lineage family helps us do just that,” said Greg Lehmkuhl, president and chief executive officer of Lineage Logistics.
The acquisition will add more than 10 million cubic feet and over 300,000 square feet of storage capacity to Lineage’s portfolio after current expansions are completed, bringing the company’s total European cold storage capacity to nearly 200 million cubic feet across 23 facilities in England, Scotland, Belgium and the Netherlands.
“We have found a strong European partner in Van Soest Coldstores, whose management shares our values and our drive to lead the cold storage industry. Managing Director Anton Mauritz and his team have built an impressive business through their commitment to customer service, and we are excited to uphold their stellar reputation by supporting their expansion of the Rijkevorsal facility this fall,” said Mike McClendon, president of Lineage Europe and EVP, Network Optimization & Integration of Lineage Logistics.
“Over our 35-year history, Van Soest has become a trusted partner to many of Europe’s leading food manufacturers. We decided to join the Lineage family because of its impressive track record of building lasting relationships based on mutual respect with family businesses like Van Soest. I am proud to be a part of the Lineage network and look forward to helping the company continue to grow as a strategic advisor,” said Mauritz.
Since the company’s founding in 2008, Lineage has achieved sustained growth organically, through new construction and with acquisitions in the United States and across the globe. This transaction builds on its multiple successful acquisitions in Europe, including Yearsley Group, the leading temperature-controlled logistics service provider and frozen food distributor in the United Kingdom, and Partner Logistics, a major automated cold storage provider in Europe.
Most recently, Lineage completed the acquisition of US-based Preferred Freezer Services, which enhanced the company’s presence in North America and provided a new market entrance in Asia. Lineage globally now has over 1.4 billion cubic feet and nearly 40 million square feet of capacity across more than 200 facilities spanning North America, Europe and Asia to support customer supply chain needs worldwide.
