A new cold storage facility 30 minutes from the Port of Savannah has added nearly 300,000 square feet of space in Coastal Georgia for protein exports and other temperature-controlled cargo.
MEDLOG held a grand opening at its new Savannah-area cold storage facility on 10 September, attended by customers, government leaders, business partners and senior company executives.
The 291,000 square-foot facility features 42 loading docks, 20,000 freezer/cooler pallet positions and the ability to complete up to 3 million pounds of protein blast freezing per day – with the largest blast room in the nation.
It is the first cold chain facility in Savannah that has a rail siding capacity for 18 rail cars. Located in Rincon, Ga., 18 miles from the Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal, the site strengthens the region’s logistics infrastructure.
The facility is projected to create more than 100 new jobs and generate $65 million in economic impact for the state of Georgia.
In addition to frozen goods, the facility can handle fresh produce imports such as citrus, avocados, grapes and blueberries with high-tech refrigeration capabilities.
With the addition of MEDLOG’s Rincon facility, the region now features nearly 2.4 million square feet of near-port cold storage space across a dozen facilities.
The gateway Port of Savannah has the capacity to power 3,800 refrigerated containers simultaneously – the most of any US port. U.S. Department of Agriculture, FDA and Customs inspections are all performed on-port in a temperature-controlled environment, reducing cost and handling of perishables and frozen commodities.
Griff Lynch, Georgia Ports President and CEO, said: “We want to welcome MEDLOG’s newest cold chain facility in the world to Savannah.
“We appreciate MEDLOG and MSC’s vision, leadership, partnership, research and investment that went into this strategic site selection.”
“We also want to recognise and thank the Rincon community for their support – and Mayor Kevin Exley and leadership team as well as Brandt Herndon, CEO of the Effingham County Economic Development for their efforts.”
Moreover, Giuseppe Prudente, Chairman of MEDLOG, said: “Today’s investment is the latest in a series of strategic infrastructure projects across the US that enhance our unique ability to serve supply chain requirements.”
“Combined with the world’s largest ocean liner, MEDLOG’s cold chain integrity and rapidly expanding multimodal transportation solutions are unrivalled.
“Together, we are creating a logistics ecosystem that provides US exporters a global competitive advantage, strengthens supply chains, and drives economic growth.”
Last month, S&P Global issued an AA/Stable rating on the Georgia Ports Authority’s (GPA) revenue bonds in its latest bi-annual review.
