Mission Produce opens mega distribution center in Laredo, Texas
Mission Produce Inc. on Sept. 29 announced the grand opening of its new mega center in Laredo, Texas, in celebration of the Company’s first anniversary of its initial public offering on Oct. 1.
The forward distribution center (FDC) and third-party logistics (3PL) facility is strategically positioned to foster enhanced customer service, increased flexibility and expanded capabilities for the Company’s customer base.
The mega center, designed and constructed by A M King, an integrated design-build firm with expertise in food distribution and cold storage facilities, has the cMapability to provide packing, bagging, ripening, trucking, cold storage, cross docking, inspections and drayage. The facility’s location also enables many customers to pick up commodities at the border, which can positively impact importing costs and logistics, as well as facilitate a more efficient supply chain.
“Opening a 12th distribution center in Laredo improves our access throughout North America, meaning we can serve our customers with ripe, high-quality fruit more reliably and efficiently than ever before,” said Stephen Fink, Vice President of North American Sales. “The capacity of the facility, in addition to its cold storage and ripening capabilities, provide greater flexibility and added value for our customers, while also meeting their importing and distribution needs.”
“We expect the industry to benefit from an additional advanced mega distribution center in Laredo, one of the nation’s most significant ports of entry for imported goods,” said Ben Barnard, Vice President of Global Partnerships and Business Development. “We aim to propel the industry forward by streamlining importation logistics and expediting transportation times from the border.” Barnard will oversee all Laredo FDC operations for Mission.
The Laredo World Trade Port of Entry is the number three port nationwide by value,1 supporting over 65,000 truckloads of fresh produce in 2020, more than 24,000 of which were avocados.2 The facility is certified by the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) to clear commodities crossing the border.
“Laredo is a major player in the produce and cold storage space, and we credit Mission Produce for leading the charge in driving the economy of our local community and bringing the industry’s top suppliers to the region,” said Pete Saenz, City of Laredo Mayor. “Following Mission, the city has received a total investment of about $120 million and the creation of more than 450 produce and cold storage jobs.”3 Mission has hired 70 positions to date, with over 110 expected, once at full capacity.
Features of the multi-temperature zone facility include:
- 10 state-of-the-art ripening rooms with the capacity for 42 pallets each
- 81,000 square feet of storage space with the potential of 6,000 pallet positions of cold storage
- 36 refrigerated dock positions and four dry dock positions
- 900 staging and inspection positions
- Four coolers with 2,590 pallet positions
“I very much enjoyed collaborating with the Mission Produce team to identify complex challenges and offer innovative solutions that ultimately resulted in a unique, first-class, state-of-the-art avocado ripening and processing plant,” said Carl Morse, A M King’s Senior Project Manager.
Mission’s Laredo FDC is located at 902 Nicolas D. Hachar Road in Laredo, Texas 78045. For any FDC or cold storage inquiries, please contact LaredoDC@missionproduce.com.
