Banks Cold Breaks Ground on Revolutionary Storage Facility

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

COMMERCE, GEORGIA (November 29th, 2024) Banks Cold Storage has broken ground on construction of a 210,620 square foot cold storage facility expertly designed by Ti Cold of Melbourne, Florida. Located near Athens and about 70 miles east of Atlanta, and owned and operated by Banks Cold Storage, the cutting-edge design will feature the latest refrigeration and freezing technology available in the cold storage industry. Completion is scheduled for the second quarter of 2025.

Unique to the U.S., the temperature-controlled warehouse will tie together 65-foot building heights, VNA (Very Narrow Aisles) and 2 deep push-back racking for cube maximization. This cutting-edge facility design is new to North America, and one of the first of its kind in the U.S.

“Ti Cold is committed to advancing the cold storage industry by providing innovative solutions that give our customers a distinct competitive advantage” said Sam Tippmann, CEO and President of Ti Cold, “Banks features a rarely seen combination of state-of-the-art elements like 2 deep push-back racking, VNA and 65-foot-tall building height. We are excited to deliver a rock-solid facility to Banks.”

The advanced cold storage complex will feature a flexible, convertible design that is able to maintain temperatures ranging from 40°F to -20°F. The facility will use low-charge ammonia systems that use natural, environmentally friendly refrigerant in low volumes. Structural steel pallet racks will accommodate over 29,520 pallet positions. This includes QFM In-Rack Freezing System™ positions, which combines blast freezing technology and pallet racking. QFM, freezes pallets up to four times faster than traditional blast freezers with the ability to reduce energy consumption by as much as 50%.

The facility room sizing is as follows: Freezer – 112,175 sq. ft., QFM Freezer – 15,850 sq. ft., First Floor Office – 5,985 sq. ft., Second Floor Office – 5,985 sq. ft., totaling a building area of 210,620 sq. ft.

With this new facility Banks Cold Storage will be able to offer their clients third party refrigerated logistics (3PL). As a 3PL the company can store the inventory of its clients with the ability to pick, pack and ship the client’s products directly from the facility. By providing warehousing, order processing, shipping, and receiving, a 3PL gives clients an option to fulfill orders quickly and efficiently, without the expense of owning a facility themselves.

“We’ve dedicated the best of our time and attention to assuring Banks Cold Storage is a quality asset that will serve the area for decades to come. Everything from the location of the facility to the building features, to job creation and retention, Banks Cold Storage is committed to quality.” said Phillip Turner of Banks Cold Storage.

Banks will be poised to have the capacity to support food wholesalers, retailers, and food manufacturing customers in central Georgia and the Georgia Ports Authority, while bringing nearly 70 new jobs to Banks County.

Many government officials and dignitaries attended the groundbreaking ceremony, including Kristen Miller, Senior Regional Project Manager of Georgia Department of Economic Development and Commissioner Tyler Harper of the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

ABOUT Banks Cold Storage: A subsidiary of a Northeast Georgia company founded in 1954, Banks Cold Storage has a solid pedigree of helping growers get their products to market at the highest quality available through the best technology.

ABOUT Ti Cold: Known as an award-winning, specialty industrial cold storage builder with decades of experience in designing and building state-of-the-art facilities across the United States, Ti Cold utilizes time-honed expertise and advanced technology solutions to create efficient buildings that scale with a business and that are designed to maximize profitability through fully integrating operations and supply chain. That’s not just standard innovation. That’s Tippmann Innovation. Ti Cold provides a full suite of cold storage construction services, including master site planning, and operations guidance. Ti’s consulting services help companies navigate the unique challenges associated with a rapidly changing industry. Ti Cold has offices in Florida and Indiana.