Editor’s Note: Over the next few months, R&FF is teaming up with FCL Builders to bring you expert perspectives and real-world insights from across the cold chain. Joining Editor in Chief Kelley Rodriguez on this series is Greg Camp, vice president of project development at FCL Builders. Greg brings over 25 years of F&B experience to the industry, including extensive technical expertise in industrial refrigerated environments.

You could say they are mining for "cold."

Opened in 2024, the Cold Solutions at Rush Creek team spent much of last year ramping up operation of a new multi-temperature FDA-approved PRW (cold storage and dry/ambient distribution center) located in Liberty, Missouri, adjacent to Kansas City.

This state-of-the-art facility accommodates 45,000 pallet positions across freezer, cooler, and dry temperatures catering to a wide array of food products. Total space encompasses 1.5 million square feet, plus blast freezing capacity of over 1 million pounds per day.

“We have a great team of industry professionals to proudly serve the temperature controlled 3PL market with the mission of ensuring food safety and being the best at serving customer needs and driving excellence in operations,” said Joe Bardowski, chief operations officer. “We are one of the few providers who offer freezer, cooler, dry and blast freezing capabilities all in one location plus expansion opportunities.”

It took about two years of work, including clearing a portion of the mine before construction, Bardowski said.

"It wasn’t exactly a CAD drawing,” he said. “There's nothing square, rectangular level in the facility. I've designed and built quite a few distribution and transportation networks, but never one quite like this.”

Cold Solutions takes advantage of its surroundings, with superior energy efficiency in a natural space, using up to 35% less power than needed compared to traditional structures.

“Our facility was designed and built with first-in-class refrigeration systems, compressors, and control systems; a specialized high efficiency air filtration system; LED lighting with a bright and pristine look in the warehouse; and a state-of-the-art GF engineered piping system. This is the first time that GF (Piping) has ever done a project of this magnitude in this temperature range,” said Terry Williams, chief engineer, Custom Refrigeration Solutions. “We knew of an opportunity here in Kansas City of a mine that really fit the cold storage environment almost perfectly. A lot of the mines that are designed around cold storage are below ground and this is an incredibly unique mine being above ground.”

Temperatures can be maintained for extended periods in the event of power outages, and the site is naturally protected from severe weather events.

“I'm a refrigeration guy at heart, but you know, I did a lot of building envelopes and from that I learned that you have to get the envelope right first and then from there you build things out. My intent was to give Joe … the driest possible mine that we can based on the elements that are here to try to keep product in with a high integrity level,” Williams said.

The warehouse stores product in a linear fashion, employing double pallet jacks to move pallets, with some on mobile racking.

“We designed it so there's flows north-south, east-west, so we call it the super-highway. You can flow front-to-back, side-to-side. We maximized the general layout to get the most pallets and the most efficient product flow,” Bardowski said.

The 73-acre site has room for expansion, Bardowski said.

Cold Solutions is strategically located to serve 85% of the U.S. market within two days and easy access to three major interstates: I-29, I-35, and I-70.

From Limestone Mine to Kansas City ‘Cold Solution’

Opened in 2024, the Cold Solutions at Rush Creek team spent much of last year ramping up operation of a new multi-temperature storage facility built in a former mine outside of Kansas City.

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