United States Cold Storage recently opened its third facility in Laredo, Texas.
The 232,366 square-foot-warehouse was built in eight months by engineering firm Stellar, and completed with a tight schedule driven by the timing of the Mexican strawberry season, according to a news release from Stellar, Jacksonville, Fla.
The $35 million facility distributes a variety of produce, including Mexican avocados.
U.S. Cold Storage, Camden, N.J., has operated in Laredo for more than 50 years, George Cruz, senior vice president of U.S. Cold Storage’s Southern Region, said in the press release.
“As food trade with Mexico continues to grow, we found ourselves in a position to respond to our customers’ growing needs with more space,” Cruz said in the release.
Cruz credited Stellar with building the facility in time for Mexican harvests.
The cold storage facility’s features include:
- Refrigerated loading dock with 21 truck doors;
- Separate cross-dock area with four truck doors for inspections/transloads;
- Refrigerated repacking room;
- 27,000 pallet positions; and
- Secure trailer yard for ease of importing and border crossings.
U.S. Cold Storage, a subsidiary of John Swire & Sons Ltd. in the United Kingdom, has 40 facilities in 13 states.