Northfreeze, now part of the Cube Cold group, is building a new refrigerated storage facility at one of its three locations within North Sea Port. The new cold storage unit is expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2025. The choice of North Sea Port for this major investment is not surprising, says head of sales and network development Fred Compeer. “For cold storage and temperature-controlled activities, North Sea Port offers a combination of factors that is very attractive to customers.”
The upcoming cold storage warehouse in Evergem will increase Northfreeze’s capacity by an additional 54,000 pallets, effectively doubling the current score in North Sea Port. 47,000 positions will be dedicated to frozen storage with a temperature regime of -20°C and 7,000 positions for chilled or controlled ambient storage, depending on the customers’ needs. On top of that, 18,000 pallet places for ambient storage have recently been added to the capacity on the Evergem-Rieme site.
The new warehouse is one of the largest Cube Cold’s current investments, with other expansions planned or commissioned to accommodate growing demand in the Netherlands and the UK, as well as in Brugge and Westerlo.
The new warehouse will be built next to Nortraffic at the De Nest site, where space is still available, unlike at the two sites in Durmakker, which do not have additional land for expansion. The building has been specially designed to reduce the operational carbon footprint, with solar panels on the roof – and possibly a wind turbine – to supply part of the energy needed for cooling.
Maintaining a consistent temperature is vital for refrigerated logistics, so the facility will continuously track and record temperatures to keep all storage zones within the client’s specified ranges. In case of a power outage, backup generators will be available to ensure uninterrupted service. The internal set-up of the warehouse will support both automated and manual operations, tailored to the needs of the customers.
CubeCold has finalised the design, applied for the required permits, and is presently in the tendering phase for the construction of its new warehouse. Work is expected to start in early 2024 and the new facility should be ready by the end of Q1 2025. The total investment is expected to exceed EUR 40 million.
CubeCold is looking to expand to other countries. The company has the ambition to grow towards a pallet capacity of more than 700.000 pallets in Europe in the coming years at strategic locations like ports, logistic nods, and area’s with high production and consumption volumes.
