Temperature-controlled DC operator Vertical Cold Storage has acquired the Canton, Michigan-based company Arctic Logistics, making its fifth acquisition of a facility in the past year and becoming the sixth largest cold storage company in North America.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Vertical Cold is sponsored by real estate investment firm Platform Ventures. According to South Dakota-based Vertical Cold, buying the Detroit-area company marks its 12th location overall and will help it serve clients in the Michigan and Ontario markets.
“This acquisition strengthens our ability to support customers engaged in cross-border trade and adds a critical location to our growing national footprint,” Jim Henderson, Chief Commercial Officer at Vertical Cold Storage, said in a release. “With evolving complexities in U.S.-Canada trade, we’re committed to being a reliable cold chain partner for producers and buyers on both sides of the border. I’m excited to work alongside the outstanding team in Detroit and apply my background in international trade to help our customers navigate this dynamic environment with seamless cold storage solutions.”
The Arctic Logistics facility is 140,000 square feet in size, has 19 dock doors, and includes over 20,000 pallet positions. Built in 1993 and expanded in 1999, the distribution center has blast freezing, case picking, kitting and cross-docking capabilities, and it offers storage areas with temperatures ranging from -20°F to +40°F.
The acquisition follows an even larger deal in the same sector the previous day, as competitor Lineage Inc. on Tuesday bought three warehouses totaling approximately 24 million cubic feet and 85 thousand pallet positions from Bellingham Cold Storage, in Washington State.
That acquisition expands Lineage’s network in the U.S. Pacific Northwest region, which today includes 40 facilities across Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Additionally, the acquisition adds a strategic warehousing footprint at the Port of Bellingham, a critical hub for seafood and agricultural products, according to Lineage, which calls itself the world’s largest global temperature-controlled warehouse REIT.
