IJmuiden, Netherlands-headquartered Kloosterboer officially opened its fully-automated, multi-user high-bay coldstore in Lelystad on June 13. Featuring 40,000 pallet positions, the facility has throughput capacity of 400,000 pallets per year and is designed to easily accommodate significant expansion in the future.
Joining CEO Alex Kloosterboer to ceremoniously mark the inaugural occasion were Erwin Pardon, regional president of McCain Foods and Lutosa for Continental Europe, Middle East and North Africa, and Janneke Sparreboom, economic affairs councilor for the Municipality of Lelystad.
The state-of-the art refrigerated warehouse is overwhelmingly utilized by launching customer McCain, which has been producing frozen french fries and potato specialties in Lelystad’s Oostervaart-Oost industrial area since 1998. The Flevoland location is in the heart of Holland’s rich potato growing region.
McCain chose Kloosterboer for the design, construction and operation of the new facility as a total solution for centralizing its numerous stock keeping units bound for foodservice and retail customers throughout Northern Europe, rather than divide storage activities over four separate locations in the Netherlands and France.
Centralization in Lelystad not only makes for smart distribution logistics, but also contributes to a lower carbon footprint by cutting CO2 emissions by about 386 tons per year. It is estimated that transport runs will be reduced by 6,000 trips, resulting in a reduction of 420,000 kilometers traveled per annum.
Solution for the Future
“Automatic high-bay coldstores are the solution for the future,” said CEO Alex Kloosterboer. “They offer many advantages for customers, such as 100% tracking and traceability, real-time stock information, less labor and fewer mistakes. Compared to conventional refrigerated warehouses, high-bay facilities use approximately 50% less energy.”
As part of its sustainability policy, Kloosterboer is continuously looking for possibilities to be more self-reliant with energy. The company has invested in sustainable energy technology including wind turbines and solar panels, and builds new coldstores and expands existing facilities in compliance with BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) requirements. The aim is to achieve the BREEAM “Outstanding” certificate for Kloosterboer Lelystad.
Accessibility is Key to Success
For Lelystad, the Kloosterboer operation highlights the municipality’s growing role and impact on companies that want to profit from available space and accessibility as well as an ever-expanding level of services.
“Accessibility is the key to economic success,” said Economic Affairs Janneke Councilor Sparreboom. “Moreover, the speed at which we process establishment procedures for the business community plays a large role. The establishment of Kloosterboer is a great example of how the cooperation between municipality and company leads to wonderful results.”
About Kloosterboer
The Kloosterboer Group is a family-owned enterprise with 90 years of experience in the handling of temperature-controlled food including fish, meat, poultry, fruit, fruit juices and concentrates, dairy products, vegetables, french fries and other value-added potato items.
Specializing in warehousing, stevedoring, forwarding, shipping, customs and logistics IT, the company offers over 4.7 million cubic meters of space and 700,000 tons of storage capacity spread across 15 locations in Europe, North America and South Africa. It employs more than 750 people and was ranked as the sixth largest coldstore operator in the world during 2018 by the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses.
