NewCold to open automated facility in Burley ID
NewCold, a deep-frozen storage and logistics specialist based in the Netherlands, plans to open its second fully mechanized facility in the United States in spring 2019.
Located in Burley ID, the state-of-the-art freezer facility is a joint design effort and construction built by NewCold and Fisher Construction Group of Burlington WA. Once open, NewCold will be one of the largest frozen storage facilities of its kind in the United States, bringing about 75 jobs to the area.
“It’s great to welcome NewCold to the Idaho business community and ‘top off’ their state-of-the-art cold storage facility in Burley,” said Idaho Gov C L “Butch” Otter. “It provides us with a chance to celebrate innovation and collaboration that begins with NewCold’s tremendous investment in Idaho’s food-processing supply chain. It figures to add significant value and opportunity to Idaho’s world-class food processors in a competitive global marketplace.”
This 180,000-square-foot fully automated building will serve the logistics needs in the northwestern US for McCain Foods USA Inc, a division of McCain Foods Limited, the manufacturer of frozen French fries and potato specialties. McCain maintains 11 US manufacturing facilities, including its Burley plant, where a $200 million processing plant expansion is underway and is due for completion in autumn 2018. This will boost employment at the facility by 180, taking the total number of employees to near 600.
The cold storage facility being constructed uses leading-edge technology, including automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) to automatically move and store products in the “dark” high-bay warehouse. Operators direct equipment using advanced software systems, while products are kept in optimal conditions with all cold storage areas cooled to sub-zero temperatures. NewCold says it offers a more energy-efficient and better food safety alternative than conventional cold storage solutions.
NewCold developed this style of storage automation in its European operations for faster and more efficient storage and shipping options. This is NewCold’s second US facility, with the first facility based in Tacoma WA opening in early 2018.
For more information, go to www.newcold.com.