b'24American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comCold chain builders stress the importance of innovationAt the 45th Annual Controlled Environment Build-ingAssociation(CEBA)Conference&Expothe message was loud and clearinnovation needs to keep on coming.By Andrew Meadows, AJOTAs reliance on the globalkeyinsightsfromthisyears cold chain increases, contin- programming and discussions.ually improving constructionA trend that came across design through innovation isclearlythroughoutthecon-the key to efficiency and sus- ference is that customers say tainability. flexibility is keyinvestments Thatwasoneofthein anything that becomes anti-mainmessagesatthe45thquated too quickly is problem-AnnualControlledEnviron- atic. Assessing a technologys mentBuildingAssociationresults against the Return on (CEBA) Conference & ExpoInvestment early in a project where more than 550 attend- lifecycle is vital. And with tar-eesspentthreedaysinLasiffs and material costs starting Vegas earlier this month dis- to rise to the top of RFPs, cus-cussing best in class facilitytomers are not willing to pay design, cold chain trends and(INNOVATIONcontinuedSadel Groups Magnavale Easton cold storage project has delivered the UKs most advanced cold chain facility, market investment.on page 26) with a fully automated high-bay frozen warehouse at -18C with 101,000 pallet capacity.Temperature-controlled facilitydesignandconstruc-tion has surged in recent years. Theseprojectssophis-ticatednext-genbuildings,Reel in Reliability With specialendeavors,andretro-fitsare all vital links in the global cold chain, said Lind- Cold Chain Support sayShelton-Gross,Senior Vice President, Global Com-munications,Marketing,and StrategicInitiativesforthe GlobalColdChainAlliance whichpartneredwithCEBA ontheExpo.Suppliersare alsoprovidingincreasingly innovative products that make buildsmoresophisticated, moreenergy-resilient,and more future-proofed for their clients long-term needs. Lindsay Shelton-Gross, Senior VP, Global Cold Chain AlliancePanelists,presentersand break-outsessionscovered food safety by design, energy efficiency,andconstruction and warehousing. The Trends & Market Forces in Tempera-ture-ControlledFacilityCon-struction panel discussion drew one of the largest crowds. Pan-elistsincludedAnitaNanda, SVP,GlobalDevelopment& Automation, Americold; Mark Grimes,FacilityandEngi-neering Development, Gordon FoodServices;JohnLong,Its not just the box.Senior Vice President of DesignIts our approach to offering food waste mitigation solutions bundled with& Construction, RL Cold; Mikeleading-edge technology that makes the difference.Llewellyn,SVPofConstruc-tion,RealCold.TheModera-tor was Scott Guimond, Vice President,FisherConstruc- Visit www.seacubecontainers.com to learn more.tion Group.c usTomersl ook forf lexiBiliTyShelton-Gross offered some BSYA 1186 Seacube AJOT 8x10 Seaport.indd 1 11/20/25 8:44AM'