North Sioux City, South Dakota-headquartered Vertical Cold Storage, a developer and operator of temperature controlled distribution centers funded by real estate asset manager Platform Ventures, has purchased Bolingbrook, Illinois-based Liberty Cold Storage from West Liberty Foods. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“Liberty Cold is the perfect first acquisition for Vertical Cold because of its location near Chicago with intermodal access and the ability to distribute to 85% of the USA’s population within two days, the talented staff and the quality modern facility that was built to the latest standards. We are open for business and are looking forward to serving existing and new customers,” said Curt Mastbergen, president of Vertical Cold Storage.
Addressing expansion strategy, he added: “We will grow by greenfield development and acquisition, drawing on our key competitive differentiators, including the highest standards of service, win-win collaboration with customers, a fully integrated technology stack that turns data into decision quality information and automation expertise.”
Liberty Cold Storage inaugurated its nearly 300,000-square-foot warehouse in 2016 to serve both the nearby West Liberty Foods processing facility and other regional customers. The facility features 36,000 pallet places and 265 blast freezer positions, LED motion lighting, a 63-foot refrigerated dock and drop trailer flexibility. The operation houses a high pressure pasteurization machine, with plans to double capacity, for food quality/safety and shelf life extension. There are also large rooms for USDA inspected market preparation, code dating and labeling, as well as other processing activities.
West Liberty Foods, a meat processing company owned by the Iowa Turkey Growers Cooperative, will remain a major customer of the distribution center.
“This is an opportunity for us to focus on our core strengths of manufacturing, packaging and supporting our retail and foodservice clients, while working with a quality organization that has decades of experience and broad expertise in the cold supply chain. Vertical Cold’s focus on customer service is a key reason why we decided to partner with them,” said Brandon Achen, president of West Liberty Foods.
“The goal for Vertical Cold is to build out a national footprint, and this acquisition bolsters that effort and creates a strong foundation for future growth. We are committed to sponsoring both transactions like this and new developments to reach that goal,” said Platform Ventures Co-President and Co-Founder Ryan Anderson.
Platform Ventures, through certain asset management subsidiaries, manages and invests in real estate, real estate-related assets, real estate technologies and real estate-focused companies throughout the United States. Platform Investments, which is owned by Platform Ventures, manages several investment vehicles that consist of institutional investors and high net worth investors. It has invested in 37 states with approximately $2.0 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2021.
