Novi, Mich.-based Lineage Logistics, the world’s largest temperature-controlled industrial REIT and logistics solutions provider, recently partnered with a pair of leading food companies to create two new facilities.
Working in conjunction with leading pork producer and processor Smithfield Foods, Lineage designed and constructed an automated, next-generation distribution center in Olathe, Kan., that will enhance its partner’s complex distribution network. The state-of-the-art facility spans nearly 20 million cubic feet and features more than 62,000 pallet positions. At its core are 18 automated cranes that move inventory into, out of and within the DC, which also boasts one of the largest temperature-controlled layer-picking systems in the world. As a result, 97% of product movement throughout the facility is automated.
The facility also features Lineage’s patented blast cell technology, which reduces freeze time and energy use by approximately one half relative to traditional blast cells, aligning with Smithfield’s industry-leading to sustainability.
“Our new facility in Olathe represents the pinnacle of supply chain technology,” says Sudarsan Thattai, Lineage’s chief information officer and chief transformation officer. “It combines innovations in robotics, numerical simulation, thermodynamics, algorithms, computer vision and software to enable reliable and efficient access to food.”
A second new Lineage-designed automated cold storage facility is expected to open in Windsor, Colo., next year. Owned and operated by the company, it will serve as a strategic distribution hub for leading global food company JBS USA.
The 200,000-square-foot facility will offer expanded blast freezing and storage capacity as well as rail access to West Coast ports for products exported overseas. The project is expected to create 80 permanent jobs in northern Colorado.
