DB Schenker expands Indianapolis hub with 55,000 sq. ft. of cold storage
DB Schenker Americas recently expanded its existing Indianapolis logistics facility to include an additional 5,000 square feet of cold storage and 50,000 square feet of controlled room-temperature space.
The expanded facility will support the pharmaceutical industry’s growing need for temperature-controlled logistics space, the company said. By building the additions in Indianapolis, DB Schenker can leverage a less-congested U.S. airport to fly direct to and from Luxembourg via its own controlled flights.
With both Indianapolis and Luxembourg serving as major centers of vaccine/pharmaceutical manufacturing activity, DB Schenker is facilitating the fast and safe delivery of vaccines, medicines, supplies, and COVID-19 test kits to the recipients who need them.
Open since 2006, the Indianapolis facility now incorporates 9,000 sq. ft. of +2 to +8 degrees C space; 100,000 sq. ft. of +15 to +25 degrees C space, and dedicated capacity on DB Schenker’s own controlled flights to and from Luxembourg. Those flights feature dedicated, temperature-controlled capacity.
The facility is Good Distribution Practice-compliant, with all freight assembled within the temperature-controlled rooms before being loaded onto the aircraft for shipping. Once onsite, the storage of the controlled products can be mapped and validated according to industry guidelines, and value-added services can be performed right within the temperature-controlled environment.
Also at the Indianapolis location, DB Schenker has added state-of-the-art refrigerated trucks for the transport of key pharmaceutical and health care products. Equipped with electric standby capabilities, these vehicles can be plugged into an outlet and turned off when they aren’t moving.
“We’ve covered all of the bases from a compliance perspective,” said Benno Forster, senior vice president, and head of operations and procurement in the Americas for DB Schenker. “While also giving health care and pharmaceutical companies an end-to-end solution that’s fully temperature-controlled from door to door.”
The cold rooms were designed to incorporate airplane pallets within the designated temperature zones. That means freight can be loaded on a just-in-time basis without having to be exposed to room or warm temperatures.
Benjamin Zervas, head of airfreight management healthcare in the Americas for DB Schenker, said the company’s decision to expand the Indianapolis facility was strategic and based on its geographic location.
“As the major airports in the U.S. become more congested, smaller airports like Indianapolis and Luxembourg have become more suitable for moving temperature-controlled healthcare shipments.,” Zervas said. “We can move directly from the tarmac to our facility, thus reducing any risks of temperature deviation during tarmac operation.”
