Performance Team, a Maersk company, announced Monday it is building a 283,000-square-foot cold storage logistics facility in Baytown, Texas, about 26 miles east of Houston.
The facility will feature a 90-foot temperature-controlled loading dock, the largest in the logistics industry, according to a brochure from Performance Team.
“Cold chain demand in the U.S. Gulf continues strong and we see a strategic opportunity to expand capacity and introduce a more integrated supply chain to make it easier for exporters and importers,” Diogo Lobo, regional head of cold chain for Maersk North America, said in a statement.
A.P. Moller – Maersk (OCTUS: AMKBY) acquired Performance Team in April 2020 in a $545 million acquisition.
Monday’s announcement said the 90-foot loading dock will enable Performance Team to stage a greater number of loads in preparation for domestic or international distribution. The company also said it worked closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on the facility’s design to ease the demands placed on inspectors who are facing increased cargo volumes.
Once completed, the cold storage facility will have access to both BNSF and Union Pacific rail lines. It will also be located near major highways and about 15 minutes from Port Houston.
Other facility specifications include:
- 13 million cubic feet of space.
- 30,000 pallet positions.
- 45 dock doors.
- 58 drop-trailer positions.
- Blast freezing positions.
- Drayage.
- Both refrigerated and frozen storage.
- 75 reefer plug-ins to maintain container temperature.
The Houston cold facility is scheduled to open in August. Maersk did not disclose the cost of the new facility.
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