Banks Cold Storage has broken ground on construction of a 210,620 square foot cold storage facility expertly designed by Ti Cold of Melbourne, Florida. Located near Athens and about 70 miles east of Atlanta, and owned and operated by Banks Cold Storage, the cutting-edge design will feature the latest refrigeration and freezing technology available in the cold storage industry. Completion is scheduled for the second quarter of 2025.
Unique to the U.S., the temperature-controlled warehouse will tie together 65-foot building heights, VNA (Very Narrow Aisles) and 2 deep push-back racking for cube maximization. This cutting-edge facility design is new to North America, and one of the first of its kind in the U.S.
The advanced cold storage complex will feature a flexible, convertible design that is able to maintain temperatures ranging from 40°F to -20°F. The facility will use low-charge ammonia systems that use natural, environmentally friendly refrigerant in low volumes. Structural steel pallet racks will accommodate over 29,520 pallet positions. This includes QFM In-Rack Freezing System™ positions, which combines blast freezing technology and pallet racking. QFM, freezes pallets up to four times faster than traditional blast freezers with the ability to reduce energy consumption by as much as 50%.
The facility room sizing is as follows: Freezer – 112,175 sq. ft., QFM Freezer – 15,850 sq. ft., First Floor Office – 5,985 sq. ft., Second Floor Office – 5,985 sq. ft., totaling a building area of 210,620 sq. ft.
With this new facility Banks Cold Storage will be able to offer their clients third party refrigerated logistics (3PL). As a 3PL the company can store the inventory of its clients with the ability to pick, pack and ship the client’s products directly from the facility. By providing warehousing, order processing, shipping, and receiving, a 3PL gives clients an option to fulfill orders quickly and efficiently, without the expense of owning a facility themselves.
