b'30American Journal of TransportationNOVEMBER 20 - DECEMBER 17, 2023Building a giant cold-storage warehouseNewCold creates strategic transportation hub for food producers to promote efficiency and sustainabilityBy Peter Buxbaum, AJOT Last month, NewCold, a Nether- countrys largest food shippers, said lands-based company, celebrated theSwarttouw, in an exclusive interview grand opening of the first phase of awiththeAJOT.Weanalyzetheir highly automated cold storage facilitysupply chains and pick the right loca-in Lebanon, Indiana. Even before thattion to store and distribute their prod-project was finished, the company haducts. In the case of ConAgra, one of announced in July that it was invest- ourkeycustomers,wecametothe ing an additional $150 million in theconclusion that for Midwest distribu-samelocationtonearlydoubleitstion and plants, the Indianapolis area originalplannedsizeofthefacilitywasbesttominimizetransportation to710,000squarefeetwhichwillcostsandhavethemostsustainable make it one of the largest cold stor- supply chain.ages in the world. The new facility,i nDiana anDC olDS toragelocatedaround30milesnorthwest of downtown Indianapolis, functionsIndianapolis is no stranger to cold-as a food warehouse, receiving prod- storage and distribution facilities. DB ucts from producers such as ConAgraSchenkerAmericashasmaintained and distributing them to retailers likeatemperature-controlledfacilityin Walmart and Costco.Indianapolissince2005,doubling The NewCold development is inter- its size in 2021. DHL Supply Chain esting on several different levels. One, ofestablishedatemperature-controlled course, is the size of the project, which issite in Indianapolis in 2019. much larger than the typical cold-storageEnergy costs are key to figuring facility in the United States. Accordingthecoststooperateanycold-stor-to a report from CBRE Research, tradi- agefacility,andIndianaisadvan- energy efficient and more sustainable.Building as tall as NewCold does tional cold-storage warehouses usuallytaged when it comes to utility prices.Newcolds warehouses have beenpresents challenges when it comes to measure between 150,000 and 400,000AccordingtodatafromtheU.S.shown to be around 50% more energythe availability of suitable real estate. square feet. EnergyInformationAdministration,efficientthanconventionalcold-stor- Whenyoudrivearoundthecoun-Another is its location in the Indi- electric power in Indiana costs aroundagefacilities,saidSwarttouw.Thetryside, you see a lot of empty places anapolisarea,whichwasdesigned,8% less than the national average.size of the facility also contributes towhereyoucouldpotentiallybuilda accordingtoJonasSwarttouw,New- NewColdsapproachcallsforthe consolidation and simplificationwarehouse,saidSwarttouw.How-ColdsExecutiveVicePresident,andbuilding high, in the case of Lebanon,of supply chains, and that leads to aever, theres not a lot of land available Chairman,ofNorth America,toopti- 150 feet off the ground. That increasesreductionintransportationmileage,at the right locations which actually mize shipper and receiver supply chains.the storage density, and, according toall of which contributes to energy effi- allow you to build that tall of a build-We work very closely with theSwarttouw,makesthefacilitymoreciency and sustainability.ing. In the case of the Lebanon facil-ity, city authorities directed NewCold to an available location which permit-ted the development the company had in mind. The height of the building makes itprimefortheapplicationofthe latest warehouse automation technol-ogies, which also promotes efficiency. We believe that automation is a great waytoprovidebetterservice,said Swarttouw.Shippingandreceiv-inggoodsveryreliably24/7andat controlled costs is a solution that the market needs.a C hange in theC olDS torageb uSineSSM oDelTheNewColdfacilitycontrasts with much of the cold-storage inven-toryinplace,whoseaverageageis around 45 years, according to a report fromtheglobalreal-estateservices firm JLL. Cold storage infrastructure overthelastdecadeshasoftenbeen developed with a different market need inmind,saidSwarttouw.Theyre located close to factories, theyre rela-tively small, and theyre more focused (GIANTcontinued on page 34)'