SIOUX CITY -- Cold-Link Logistics on Friday held the grand opening of the first phase of its new cold storage facility.
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Representatives from Cold-Link, its contractor the Tippmann Group, the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce, and Sioux City mayor Bob Scott were all in attendance for the building’s ceremony, ribbon cutting, and tours.
The Florida-based company was founded by three brothers, Michael, Mark and Nick Mandich in 2020. They own and manage eight facilities throughout the United States and have added Sioux City to their roster.
The 200,000-square-foot complex sits on 40 acres in the Southbridge Business Park near the Sioux Gateway Airport. It is currently in phase I of their planned four-phase project. It is expected to be 500,000 square feet upon completion, abutting 255th Street.
“This site was an old river sand patch, and it was very good,” said Cold-Link General Manager Steve DeVries. “So, this site was perfect for construction.”
Currently it stores ice cream products from the Le Mars-based Well’s Enterprises’, primarily Blue Bunny, and meat products from Perdue Foods and Empirical Foods. They currently hold and distribute both frozen and refrigerated products.
They currently have three storage rooms all with 60-foot ceilings, making the building one of the tallest warehouses in the Midwest. The first and second primarily hold frozen and refrigerated meat, one set at -15-degrees and the other between 28 and 34 degrees. The third holds ice cream overflow from Well’s at –20-degrees and is intentionally isolated from the other products in accordance with their FDA regulation. Two of the three rooms can also alternate between being a cooler and freezer, which they adjust depending on the product.
They currently have 20,500 pallet locations within the warehouse and have been intaking and storing products from Well’s, Perdue and Empirical for three months. They also have a rail dock with four doors and the ability to add a fifth. Although they are currently not exporting via rail cars, they plan to in the near future.
“We’ve already pulled the trigger on phase two,” said Cold-Link's Quality Assurance Manager Philip Todd. “We are going to add another 14 to 15,000 pallet locations. By the time we are all said and done, and the output is all the way to 255th, we’re going to have 80,000 pallet locations.”
The new complex will also provide jobs for Siouxlanders both in their warehouse and from the clerical side of operations. As the building expands, so will their staff.
Their current plans are to continue expanding their complex and focusing on acquiring more local clientele, as they hope to become the hub for Siouxland businesses looking for cold storage.