InterChange Group is excited to announce the construction of a modern cold storage facility located in Mt. Crawford, VA to support the region’s vibrant and growing food and beverage industries. This state of the art building will be constructed in several phases and will have the potential to reach 600,000 sq/ft and over 80,000 pallet positions in multiple rooms with temperatures ranging from -10F up to 34F. Construction of an approximately 16,000 pallet position Phase 1 has started with a targeted opening in 2nd quarter of 2019 and it is expected that a similarly sized Phase 2 will follow almost immediately. With Phase 2, features such as blast freezing and access to rail will be available.
There has been no new cold storage construction in the region for at least 20 years while the needs of the food and beverage producers have continued to increase. Because of this, the producers have found it necessary to utilize cold storage capacity outside of the area which results in significant increases in associated transportation costs. The availability of the new InterChange Cold Storage facility will allow these goods to again be stored locally. The building’s location on Interstate 81, one of the primary truck routes along the east coast and for freight coming in from the west, should also make it attractive to businesses from outside the area looking for a distribution point to easily access the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast United States.
“This Cold Storage facility represents the largest single project InterChange has taken on and we are excited to provide this new service to our customers. Equally important, we are proud to be able to provide additional employment opportunities to the local community” said Devon Anders, President of InterChange Group. “InterChange has its roots in servicing the food and beverage industry and this allows us to provide them a full range of options that will include storage for inbound packaging supplies and ingredients, transportation and now a full service cold storage.”
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam hailed the project on August 13, 2018 as a major investment in the Shenandoah Valley economy. “This project creates vital infrastructure for the large and growing cluster of food and beverage industries in the Shenandoah Valley, which in turn produce major markets for Virginia farmers,” Governor Northam said. “I am proud to support this effort that will bring new jobs and significant investment in the region, while also bolstering the manufacturing and agricultural sectors that are so important to our rural economies.”
InterChange is very appreciative of the confidence shown in the company and this project by state and local governments reflected in the significant incentives packages they have offered to help move this forward.
