LOGISTICS BRIEFS

Global warehousing and logistics services providerVersaCold, Vancouver, B.C., said it plans in July to open a 196,000-sq.-ft. public refrigerated storage and distribution center in Tacoma, Wash., less than one mile from all ocean carrier terminals at Puget Sound. Officials say the new site will feature cooler, freezer and ice cream storage; an enclosed refrigerated dock, import-export services and state-of-the-art technologies including a proprietary WMS system, RF barcode scanning and voice-directed order pick system. The site also has access to a Union Pacific rail switching yard.

Hanson Logistics, St. Joseph, Mich., said it plans in July to open a Phase II expansion at its Chicago Consolidation Center, located just outside the metro area in Hobart, Ind. Consisting of new office areas and 2,517,000 cubic feet of warehousing space, the expansion will add more short-term storage, 7,800 pallet positions, staging and dock space for frozen and refrigerated foods. The flagship Chicago Consolidation Center is a three-phase, 14.5 million-cu.-ft. facility now in its third full year of operation, officials say. The complex is designed specifically for high-volume throughput, including flexible racking for quick-pick consolidation and cross docking of temperature-controlled food products. From there, Hanson Transportation Management Services provides inbound, shuttle service, national truckload service, as well as Velocities™ Multi-Vendor Consolidation (MVC). Velocities delivers scheduled shared truckloads to major retail, wholesale and foodservice distribution centers nationwide.