McCain Foods supplier NewCold opens $90 million facility in Idaho

NewCold, the Netherlands-based specialist in automated cold storage, announced the opening of its $90 million, 180,000-square-foot facility in Burley, Idaho. It is one of the largest cold storage warehouses in the United States and will employ 100 people.

NewCold’s Burley facility, which took 25,000 tons of steel to construct, is using advanced conveyance and stacking technology to load and store frozen food pallets. French fry maker McCain Foods, which recently underwent a $200 million expansion in Burley, is NewCold’s largest Idaho customer.

“This is NewCold’s second U.S. operation and one of the largest cold-storage facilities of its kind,” said Jonas Swarttouw, director, NewCold United States. “Due to its concentration of food processing companies, strong labor force and good supplier and government partnerships, NewCold chose Idaho for one of the most innovative and efficient frozen-food centers in the country.”

The new warehouse stands at more than 14 stories tall, with a cubic, vertical layout that is optimal for pallet storage. The efficient design cuts down energy consumption by up to half the rate of traditional warehouses. The facility’s high bay — not accessible by facility workers — is kept dark, slashing electricity usage.

The cutting-edge facility nears a short-line rail facility which will be used to ship approximately 15% of NewCold’s stored foods. The remaining loads will be trucked to food-service clients or other warehouses.

NewCold’s Burley location will employ managers, planners, operators, maintenance workers, drivers and forklift operators — all of whom oversee an efficient inbound, storage, order fulfillment and outbound process.

The warehouse stores foods at -5 degrees Fahrenheit, with oxygen levels lowered to 16.5% for fire prevention.

NewCold currently has facilities in Australia, France, Germany, Poland, Tacoma, Washington, and the UK.