After just over a month in operation, Nordic Cold Storage has moved tens of millions of pounds of refrigerated cargo through the Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City Terminal.
Nordic welcomed state officials and the media to a tour of its state-of-the-art storage and blast facility, located minutes from the Port of Savannah, the fourth-busiest port in the United States.
“Nordic’s presence here extends the Port of Savannah’s ability to support Georgia’s vital agricultural industry, in particular, our poultry producers,” said GPA Executive Director Curtis Foltz.
The site has more than 200,000 square feet of convertible temperature-controlled storage space and is capable of blasting more than 10 million pounds of product—ranging from fresh poultry to produce—per week. This $30 million facility currently employs 100 workers; however Nordic plans to expand the facility by the end of 2013.
“In just five weeks, we have already received 30 million pounds of product and made outbound shipments totaling 20 million pounds,” said Ross Maple, Nordic’s director of business strategy.Foltz said the GPA is also increasing its refrigerated cargo capacity to stay ahead of demand.
“The GPA is installing an additional 20 refrigerated container racks at the Garden City Terminal,” said Foltz. “This adds 480 chilled cargo slots, for a total capacity of more than 2,600 containers a week.”
The refrigerated containers are powered by 600 chassis plug-ins and 2,016 container rack slots. The Port of Savannah is the only port in the nation to use reefer racks on this scale.
“In the last seven years, refrigerated exports through the Port of Savannah have increased 130%,” Foltz said. “The combination of public and private investment ensures we are prepared for future growth in this valuable cargo segment.”
in 2012, the GPA saw a 3.9% increase in refrigerated cargo exports, totaling nearly 108,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent container units). More than 80 cold storage facilities around the state rely on the Port of Savannah, with a combined storage capacity greater than 16 million square feet.
Maple said the project was made possible through the support of Nordic’s partners at the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the Savannah Economic Development Authority, the Georgia Ports Authority, Georgia Power, Georgia Quick Start, and the City of Pooler GA.
