NewCold is pleased to announce that it is investing in a new, state-of-the art facility and expanding its existing customer partnership with Conagra Brands, one of North America’s leading branded food companies.
NewCold will build and operate an advanced, large-scale automated cold store facility which will be the biggest in Indiana and one of the largest in the United States. It is approximately half the size of the mammoth Lucas Oil stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts. At 141 feet high (43 meters), the facility holds over 100,000 pallet positions.
Lebanon, Ind., facility will be NewCold’s third facility in the U.S., including an existing presence in Tacoma, Wash., and Burley, Idaho. Scheduled to be operational in 2022, the US$150 million facility is expected to create 150-200 new jobs.
Bram Hage, Founder and CEO of NewCold said: “It is very pleasing to see our continued growth in North America as we seek to build a long-term strategic relationship with Conagra, built on mutual trust. Our robust global pipeline includes the delivery of at least six new capital projects, as we continue to develop multiple large-scale automated facilities across Europe, Australia and North America. This momentum confirms a very positive future for customers and an innovation boost for the industry.”
Craig Weiss, Sr. Vice President of Supply Chain and Chief Transformation Officer for Conagra Brands said: “At Conagra Brands, we’re modernizing our distribution network infrastructure as part of our overall supply chain strategy. We’re partnering with NewCold to develop a new, state-of-the-art distribution center that will support our growing frozen business so we can better meet the needs of our customers and consumers.”
Jonas Swarttouw, VP, Customer & Business Development for NewCold in North America, said: “Collaborating with respected partners like Conagra drives our success, as we share an ambition to transform the industry and reimagine the global food supply chain. As we continue to expand our North American presence, we support local communities in efforts to foster economic growth and create high-quality employment opportunities. The NewCold team at our Chicago Regional HQ will be leading the development, implementation and start-up of the operation, in close cooperation with our partners and stakeholders.”
The Indianapolis cold storage facility will use state-of-the-art technology including automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) to automatically move and store products in the ‘dark’ high-bay warehouse. To serve the high volume of case picking, an advanced automated case picking solution for detailed order fulfilment activities is part of the investment. The equipment and operators will be directed by NewCold’s proprietary advanced software systems, while products are kept in optimal conditions with all cold store areas cooled down to sub-zero temperatures. This advanced cold chain solution ensures that processes are sustainable, traceable, fully integrated with the processes of NewCold’s customers, and always at the very forefront of technological developments.
NewCold expects to begin site mobilization and construction activities in the coming weeks.
