Emergent Cold Latin America (Emergent Cold LatAm) has acquired Multifrigo, a leading frozen and refrigerated warehousing operator in Chile. The Sao Paulo, Brazil-headquartered company also announced plans to expand Multifrigo’s main automated facility in El Olivo to 35,000 pallet positions, thus tripling its current size.
Multifrigo was founded in 1987 by the Lyng family, and then further developed by Carlos and Jorge Lyng with contributions from minority partners, the Falcone and Pavez families. Today it operates three facilities and close to 25,000 pallet positions of storage. The second facility is in Maipu, and the third coldstore is in Casablanca, strategically located between Santiago and the Ports of Valparaiso and San Antonio.
Emergent Cold LatAm will immediately commence a fully automated 24,500-pallet expansion of Multifrigo’s operation in El Olivo. This investment will add significant capacity in a key metropolitan market.
Chile is an important market for Emergent Cold LatAm, as it continues to be a major food source for the world. The company’s first investment was made in November of 2021, with the acquisition of Friopacífico in Chile’s Eighth Region of Biobío. In September of 2022, it announced plans to construct a 37,000-pallet facility in Talcahuano, which will open in January 2024 and increase capacity in this market by more than 65%.
“Multifrigo is a perfect fit for our investment strategy in Chile,” said David Palfenier, president of Emergent Cold LatAm. “It is a market leader in an important metropolitan area with strong customer relationships. Just as important is its commitment to innovation and sustainability, which are our core values.
Emergent Cold LatAm currently operates 25 cold storage facilities, more than 500 trucks, and has four facilities now under construction to serve 10 countries across South America.
