Preferred Freezer Services (PFS), Chatham, N.J., is currently overseeing the construction of its newest facility in Richland, Wash.

The construction of the new facility broke ground on May 12. Upon completion (projected for July 2015), it is said to be the largest public refrigerated warehouse in North America and the largest single cold storage facility built at one time in the world.

Once completed, the facility will stand at 120 feet tall and cover 455,000 square feet, with 313,000 square feet dedicated to automated freezer space. The Richland facility will add over 40 million cubic feet of cold storage capacity to PFS’s continually expanding footprint. The facility is strategically located near an existing railroad spur. The track system will provide 207 miles of pallet support and will have the capacity for 50 rail cars per day. Plus, the automated freezer will feature robotic cranes rather than the human-operated equipment relied upon by traditional warehouses.

The project is “exciting, new and different,” says Brian Beattie, president. “[It’s] our first venture into the Pacific Northwest, with two additional locations in the development stage.”

This will be the company’s first cold storage warehouse in the state of Washington.