FreezPak Logistics, BG Capital team for $1B nationwide cold storage expansion

FreezPak Logistics and BG Capital are partnering to build $1 billion worth of new cold storage facilities in port-centric markets across the United States.

As part of the partnership, the companies will build more than 200 million cubic feet of cold-storage warehouses nationwide, creating 310,000 pallet positions by the fourth quarter of 2024. Officials said the market for high-tech cold storage facilities across the country is being underserved.

“The speculative cold storage market does not meet the needs for automation and advanced material handling equipment,” Mike Saoud, CEO of FreezPak, said in a statement. “This joint venture will accelerate our growth and enable us to offer our clients cold storage around the country.”

FreezPak did not specify which new markets it is targeting but, according to the company website, locations in Florida, California, Texas, Washington, Georgia and Michigan are under consideration.

Founded in 2001, FreezPak Logistics is a family-owned company headquartered in Carteret, New Jersey. The company currently operates five facilities, including four in New Jersey and one in Philadelphia. FreezPak also has facilities under construction in Miami and Woodbridge, New Jersey.

Philadelphia-based BG Capital is a real estate investment and management firm founded in 2012 by Joseph Byrne and Daniel Govberg.

“We are thrilled to find two entrepreneurial partners like Joe and Danny who understand our goal of being a fully integrated company,” Dave Saoud, co-CEO of FreezPak Logistics, said in a statement. “This partnership enhances our one-stop shop model by becoming the developer, operator, integrator and logistics provider.”

The companies recently announced the partnership’s first project, a 170,000-square-foot cold chain facility in Philadelphia scheduled to open by July 2023.

FreezPak’s second Philadelphia facility will create about 60 jobs and include 30 robots to move pallets in and out of freezers, helping the company achieve its “objective to continue to offer superior same day and next day,” FreezPak co-CEO Mike Saoud said.

The 7-acre Philadelphia facility will offer cooler and frozen temperature zones in over 165,000 square feet of space. It also includes 20 loading docks, 30 trailer parking stalls with container plug-ins and a 26,802-square-foot cooler dock that features a 75-foot building height for the freezer and 30-foot building height for the dock. The facility will be located within minutes of Packer Avenue Marine Terminal and Interstate 95.

“FreezPak is committed to building out a national warehouse network, and the unveiling of our new state-of-the-art cold storage facility in Philadelphia only solidifies that commitment,” Dave Saoud, FreezPak’s co-CEO, said in a statement.