Novi, Michigan-based Lineage Logistics announced on April 5 that it will build a next-generation automated cold storage facility in Windsor, Colorado for JBS USA, scheduled to open in 2023. The company is a subsidiary of Sao Paulo, Brazil-headquartered JBS S.A. which is ranked as the largest meat processor in the world in terms of sales. Its product portfolio includes value-added beef, chicken and pork.
Lineage has designed an automated facility encompassing more than 200,000 square feet that will provide JBS with expanded blast freezing and storage capacity, as well as rail access to support the shipment of export products to ports on the West Coast of the United States. The warehouse will join Lineage’s growing network of fully automated facilities worldwide.
“We are thrilled to partner with long-term customer JBS, along with the town of Windsor and Upstate Colorado Economic Development on this project that builds on JBS’s long history of supporting local Colorado communities,” said Greg Lehmkuhl, president and chief executive officer of Lineage. “We will construct a new, world-class automated cold storage facility that leverages our industry-leading technology and expertise and builds a more efficient supply chain for JBS.”
“This is an exciting project for our company that supports not just our efforts to provide high quality food for families around the world, but also our longstanding commitment to the state of Colorado,” said Tim Schellpeper, chief executive officer of JBS USA. “The new state-of-the-art facility will streamline our supply chain to benefit customers and improves efficiencies, all while benefitting this region through job creation and local investment.”
The warehouse will be built on land purchased by Lineage within the 3,000-acre Great Western Industrial Park (GWIP). Owned and operated by rail and real estate developer The Broe Group, the site will be rail-served by its transportation affiliate, OmniTRAX, which has a network of 24 regional and short line railroads across North America. OmniTRAX will design, build and operate a custom intermodal rail aim for the new facility that maximizes bulk shipment efficiency and enables worldwide reach.
Lineage and JBS worked closely with Windsor government and Upstate Colorado Economic Development officials to secure the project. As a result of this public-private collaboration, once operational the facility will result in a $102.9 million, 10-year net fiscal benefit to Windsor that will support further economic development of the region, including the creation of 80 permanent jobs.
