Manfredi Cold Storage building new facility in New Jersey

Kennett Square, Pa.-based Manfredi Cold Storage & Distribution Inc. has started construction of a 100,000-square-foot cold storage, packing and cross-docking facility in New Jersey. The company expects a move-in date of April 2021, Manfredi officials said.

The facility is located at the Oldmans Township in New Jersey just south of the Commodore Barry Bridge on Route U.S. 130, according to a news release.

Frank Manfredi, president, said the facility allows the company to have a presence on the other side of the Delaware River, within 35-40 minutes of major ports in the region and good access to bridges as well.

“Now we have an opportunity to snag some of that (New Jersey) business as well, and the business is growing,” he said. Manfredi said the building has been updated with the latest upgrades available. 

“We look at everything we’ve done in Kennett, and anything we can make more efficient, we’re doing that now in New Jersey.”

The facility will feature a packing room very close to the storage area, Manfredi said. Whereas the company’s Kennett Square facility had its packing operations about 600 feet away from the storage room, the new facility places the packing room only 50 feet away.

“It is going to be a very, very efficient operation,” Manfredi said.

The facility will have 4,400 pallet positions compared with 30,000 pallet positions at the company’s Kennett Square facility. 

“If we have to overflow into Kennett, we can,” he said.

While the first phase of the facility is likely to be open by May, Manfredi said the company will extend the building’s pad by another 100,000 square feet to prepare for a future expansion. 

The project is the first phase of a planned and approved 600,000-square-foot facility on 52 acres with rail access, according to the release.
The company will also offer services for case picking, order building and quality control inspection services for chilled and frozen products, according to the release.

The necessary road improvements have been completed and the site has over 2,000 feet of road frontage along U.S. Route 130. The major site improvements were started and completed in 2019, according to the company, and the foundations were also completed in December 2019 and steel erection began in October.

According to the release, phase 1 of the facility will feature inspection-capable docks, storage capacity for 4,400 pallet positions with 104-inch-tall openings, and a 30,000-square-foot packing room.  

There is also over 10,000 square feet of welfare and mechanical area with a central plant refrigeration system, according to the release. 

The New Jersey construction comes on the heels of two new additions totaling 100,000 square feet at the Kennett Square site last year, according to the company. The Kennett Square site now has a 40,000-square-foot packing area, storage for 30,000 pallets, and eight ripening rooms. 

Manfredi designed the facility and refrigeration systems and will act as the general contractor for the New Jersey project, according to the release.