Americold Realty Trust, a global leader in temperature-controlled logistics, real estate, and value-added services, has officially broken ground on a new $127 million cold storage facility in Kansas City, Mo.

State and local leaders joined company executives to celebrate the company’s new investment in Missouri.

“Americold is yet another example of an industry-leading employer choosing Missouri due to our economic advantages,” Gov. Mike Parson said. “This innovative company’s presence in Kansas City is a welcome addition to the region’s thriving logistics sector. We congratulate Americold on its new facility and look forward to the benefits that this investment will provide for Missourians.”

The company plans to create nearly 190 new jobs in the region. The new 335,000-square-foot facility in Kansas City is part of a strategic collaboration with Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) to co-locate Americold warehouse facilities on the CPKC network.

“We are thrilled to break ground on a new cold storage facility in Kansas City,” said George Chappelle, CEO of Americold. “This facility is the first to be built as part of our strategic collaboration with CPKC. By combining our cold storage capabilities with CPKC’s extensive rail network, Americold is poised to deliver a differentiated offering to support more customers across North America.”

“Today's groundbreaking for this new facility marks the beginning of a significant collaboration that shows what we can achieve with vision and working together for our customers,” said Keith Creel, president and CEO of CPKC. “This project is the first of many across our network and, when combined with our unparalleled cross-border service, will build a new refrigerated supply chain for our customers. Just over one year ago here in Kansas City, when we celebrated the creation of CPKC, we talked about the unique economic benefits our unrivaled network would bring to Kansas City, Missouri and beyond. We are seeing that happen today.”

The new facility will support CPKC’s Mexico Midwest Express (MMX) service, North America's only single-line rail service offering for refrigerated shippers between US Midwest markets and Mexico. It will also enable more seamless and efficient service for MMX customers.

“I am proud to welcome Americold into our growing and vibrant business community in Kansas City. With the ability to tap into our talented, highly-skilled workforce and our centralized Canadian Pacific Kansas City transportation system allowing access to more consumers internationally, Kansas City is the prime location for an innovative company like Americold to plant its roots,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said. “We look forward to the continued success of Americold in our community and the exciting new opportunities available to Kansas City as a result.”

"We're thrilled to officially welcome Americold to Kansas City," said Steven Anthony, vice president of business development for the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City Missouri. "Their presence here, along with the great partnership with CPKC, will further reinforce Kansas City's deep strength in cold storage warehousing and logistics. The new jobs that will be generated and high-paying wages are icing on the cake."

Michelle Hataway, director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, said, “We’re proud to support Americold alongside our partners as the company establishes its first facility in Kansas City. This exciting project will help Missourians prosper through its significant investment, job creation, and positive impact on our state’s transportation and logistics industry.”

Subash Alias, CEO of Missouri Partnership, said, "“It is always exciting when a company breaks ground in Missouri, and we are thrilled to officially welcome Americold to Kansas City. Americold is joining more than 20,000 distribution and logistics companies in the state who are benefitting from Missouri’s central location, solid infrastructure, and low business costs. We look forward to watching Americold’s facility take shape and seeing their success unfold here in Missouri.”

Missouri Partnership worked with several partners to attract Americold to Kansas City, including: the City of Kansas City, Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri, KC SmartPort, Missouri Department of Economic Development, Missouri One Start, Evergy, and Spire.

Source: Americold Realty Trust