New Orleans Cold Storage, the oldest cold storage company in North America, will operate the massive, new 140,000-square-foot facility, which will add 125 direct new jobs and generate $126 million in annual spending. The new facility marks an expansion to the company’s operations in New Orleans, adding new capacity on the Mississippi River to existing facilities located along the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (Industrial Canal).
“The announcement is great news not only for New Orleans, but for our entire state. The new facility is a symbol of the resilience of the City of New Orleans and Louisiana,” Governor Jindal said. “The project shows that we may have been knocked down by Hurricane Katrina, but we were committed to getting up and rebuilding better than before. Even after sustaining devastating damage after Hurricane Katrina and being recruited to rebuild in other states, New Orleans Cold Storage chose to stay and reinvest in New Orleans because of Louisiana’s strong business climate, world class workforce and manufacturing and transportation infrastructure.”
NOCS, one of the largest suppliers to poultry, beef, pork and other exporters in the country, operates four facilities with more than 12 million cubic feet of refrigerated space in New Orleans, Houston and Charleston, S.C. Following Hurricane Katrina, the Congressional closure of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet hindered the company’s ability to operate on the Industrial Canal and its future in New Orleans was in doubt.
“Failure was not an option. We never gave up because we knew we had to build this terminal to retain cargo that is essential to the health of the Port of New Orleans,” said Port President and CEO Gary LaGrange. “But this new terminal represents so much more than simply replicating the capacity we lost to Katrina. We’ve built stronger and smarter. Our investment will allow the Port of New Orleans and NOCS to grow its cargo volumes and offer unparalleled services to shippers.”
NOCS President and CEO Mark Blanchard said the opening of the new facility marks the end of the company’s recovery and positions it for future growth.
“We have reached the end of a long road traveled since Hurricane Katrina and we are poised for growth,” Blanchard said. “The storm and subsequent closing of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet made it uncertain whether we could keep operations in New Orleans open. But with the help of the State of Louisiana and the Port of New Orleans, we are expanding by opening our new, state-of-the-art terminal at the Henry Clay Avenue Wharf.”
Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain said the new facility will provide opportunities to farmers in every corner of the State.
“With Louisiana being a major producer of poultry, the expansion of New Orleans Cold Storage will keep Louisiana products fresher and ready for market,” Strain said. “From an economic standpoint, this terminal provides jobs to our residents working at the facility, benefits our poultry industry valued at more than $1.6 billion and helps to grow our ports. With agriculture being one of the largest industries in Louisiana, we will continue to support our farmers and the industry that feeds our people.”
The former 50-year-old dockside transit shed at Henry Clay was demolished and the substructure strengthened in preparation for the new facility. The berths were stabilized and dredged to a minimum 35-foot draft. The warehouse incorporates energy-saving technology and state-of-the-art operational efficiencies. The highly technical refrigeration processes can freeze up to 1.25 million pounds of product daily and store 38 million pounds of frozen goods between -15 and 40 degrees F, making it the largest blast-freeze operation in the Northern Hemisphere. There are two break bulk vessel berths at the Henry Clay dockside facility
