In today’s modern world of complex logistics and precise timetables, there are no two clients whose needs are exactly the same. That’s why Des Moines Cold Storage (DMCS), Des Moines, Iowa, tapped ESI Group USA’s Omaha, Neb., office to design and build a 120,000-squarefoot cold storage facility.
Situated on Vandalia Road, the company’s fourth facility, aptly named Crossroads Cold Storage, accentuates the location’s proximity to customers and access to highways and the railroad.
It consists of 65,936 square feet of freezer storage and 2,374 square feet of cooler storage in addition to process areas, blast freezing capabilities and 10-truck and 4-rail dock positions.
Plus, the administrative office includes shipping/receiving, customer service, supervisor offices, lobby/office space, a conference room, janitor’s closet, break area and bathrooms.
Additional features entail urethane resinous flooring in process areas, shrinkage compensating industrial floors in warehouse areas, insulated metal panels, LED lighting, convertible rooms of -10°F to 40°F, an ammonia refrigeration system and continuous pit-style design with vertical storing levers for energy savings.
“The 80-plus-year-old company needed a showpiece facility to meet the future needs of the growing business,” says Andrew Nelson, regional manager, ESI Constructors, Inc.’s Omaha office. “We incorporated LED light fixtures with motion detectors, rail and truck docks, USDA process rooms, walk-on ceilings, flat floors, stainless-steel drain systems, state-of-the-art refrigeration system and custom-designed blast freezers to -40°F.”
ESI has been an industry leader in the design and construction of temperature-controlled environments for over 25 years with 85% repeat business to boot, adds Nelson.
“Sound design and engineering, the ability to vet the most qualified, available subcontractors, manage them, support them, treat them with respect and pay them on time has been a recipe for success so far,” he says
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