The North Carolina State Ports Authority, Wilmington, N.C., broke ground on a new 101,000-square-foot cold storage facility, located directly on terminal at the Port of Wilmington. This construction will offer over 11,000 pallet positions and is expected to create more than 100 new jobs.

“North Carolina is a major hub for global exportation of refrigerated pork and poultry products and a major player in the protein production export business,” says Paul Cozza, chief executive officer. “By utilizing this newly created cold storage facility, protein producers will be able to save a substantial amount on transportation costs to ship to their existing markets abroad. Having access to this facility will reduce spoilage and increase delivery/export times for our customers and businesses in North Carolina.”

Potential import commodities such as fruits, vegetables and seafood present vast opportunities for the North Carolina State Ports Authority and the cold storage facility. It is scheduled to be completed in February 2016, and will provide a seamless logistical advantage for international shippers.

“The Port of Wilmington Cold Storage facility will add the missing link in the global cold storage chain for Port of Wilmington by providing a facility [that] will offer services of cold and frozen storage, blast freezing and the loading and unloading of export and import products from North Carolina and around the world,” says Chuck McCarthy, president and CEO Port of Wilmington Cold Storage.