Replicating an expansion completed early in 2013, Hanson Logistics, St. Joseph, Mich., broke ground on additional deep frozen storage capacity in the company’s Chicago Consolidation Center. This is the fourth expansion in seven years, reflecting the company’s ongoing investment in the Velocities Multi-Vendor Consolidation program, a solution to the on-demand complexity of filling multiple SKU frozen food orders shipping to virtually all major retail, wholesale and foodservice distribution centers throughout the United States. Construction of the Hobart, Ind., facility is managed by Tippmann Construction, Fort Wayne, Ind.

“Thanks to the efforts of all Hanson associates, we are meeting new customer demand a bit sooner than projected. Our build-out will be completed ahead of schedule, and we have maximized the space available in our Chicago-area campus,” says Andrew Janson, president, Hanson Logistics. “Velocities MVC program, which offers single-source warehousing and national refrigerated transportation, has become a model of efficiency and consistency in frozen food distribution. The success of the program, together with the proactive Indiana business environment, has helped us fulfill our vision for world-class cold storage in this strategic location.”

The additional 85,000 square feet will feature LED lighting, 12,000 new 90-inch pallet positions and 14 swing-in doors, bringing the facility’s overall specifications to 16,500,000 cubic feet, 48,000 pallet positions and 50 doors. While the Chicago Consolidation Center offers deep frozen storage, most customers rely on the center for outbound distribution. Hanson Transportation Management Services and refrigerated truck fleet operates from the facility and provides inbound, shuttle service and nationwide truckload and less-than-truckload service.