Americold breaks ground on cold storage facility at Port Saint John

Americold opened a new facility on the Saint John, N.B., waterfront.

The ground has been broken on the Saint John, N.B., harbour for Americold Realty Trust’s first import-export hub in Canada.

Americold, a global leader in temperature-controlled logistics, held a ceremony Thursday afternoon with officials from Port Saint John, DP World and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Railway, among other local and provincial leaders.

“Think about the businesses that are now going to be able to take their food products, leverage a cold chain and get their products to new markets across the country cheaper, more quickly. This is a win on so many levels for New Brunswick’s economy,” said Premier Susan Holt.

Americold says the facility will also be a first-of-its-kind worldwide to bring together its cold storage operations with the capabilities of DP World and the rail lines of CPKC.

“Developing this facility at Port Saint John marks an important step forward for Americold,” said Rob Chambers, president of Americas at Americold, in a news release.

“The infrastructure investments by DP World and CPKC alongside Port Saint John have attracted major global shipping lines to this location, and we are excited that our world-class cold storage facility and value-added services will support food flows between Central and Eastern Canada, Europe, South America and APAC.”

Chamber said the opportunity to bring everybody together in one location is unique across the world. He said the decision was a “no-brainer.”

Americold plans to cover the $100-million price tag to build the import-export hub. The company says the facility will improve trade routes between Canada the global markets, and increase Port Saint John’s growing capacity. The Americold facility will store mostly food products.

It will also improve import logistics and support economic growth. The build is anticipated to bring around $37 million in direct provincial gross domestic product (GDP). Opportunities NB is spending $1.01 million in the form of a payroll rebate to help Americold create up to 100 jobs by the end of 2029.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Americold and the opportunities it brings to create jobs on our waterfront,” says Craig Bell Estabrooks, president and CEO of Port Saint John. “Our extensive infrastructure investments have paved the way for leading global partners to thrive in Saint John.”

The cold storage facility is the latest addition to the port’s growing arsenal. Late last year the port received two new container cranes to bring its total to six.

The newest cranes are larger then the previous four and boast an outreach of 65 metres. They can also reach up to 24 containers wide (the other four cranes can reach up to 21 containers wide) and can service ships with a capacity above 10,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit).

“I think it’s about the partners uniting and the momentum that exists when you have everyone aligned,” said Estabrooks. “So we have rail, the terminal operator, the short line JD Irving. The provincial government is here today, the federal government’s been a big supporter. And then of course our board of directors and the Port Authority.”

All six cranes are operated by DP World Canada.

“Our partnership with Americold and CPKC reflects our shared commitment to transforming supply chain efficiency and sustainability” says Doug Smith, CEO of DP World Canada. “This investment by Americold is a significant milestone in our joint mission to create seamless, end-to-end logistics solutions.”

The new cold storage facility is slated to open sometime in 2026.

More to come…

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