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Ahold Delhaize USA taps Americold for new automated frozen warehouses

Projects to add half-million square feet of cold storage for stores in Northeast, Mid-Atlantic

Russell Redman

May 14, 2020

3 Min Read
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Plans call for the new cold-storage facilities to be up and running by the fourth quarter of 2022, according to Ahold Delhaize USA.Americold

Ahold Delhaize USA is partnering with cold storage provider Americold to build two automated frozen warehouses to serve its supermarkets in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.

Ahold said Thursday the new cold-storage facilities will be in Plainville, Conn., and Mountville, Pa. The Plainville warehouse will serve Stop & Shop and Hannaford stores in the Northeast and New England, while the Mountville warehouse will serve the Giant Food, The Giant Company and Food Lion chains in the Mid-Atlantic.

Plans call for the new facilities to go into operation by the fourth quarter of 2022, according to Ahold. The company said the projects will expand cold storage space by 24 million cubic feet, or 500,000 square feet, and provide local product expansion, better product freshness and faster delivery because of their proximity to its local supermarket brands.

“We’re extremely proud of this new partnership with Americold and the opportunity to fully expand our cold storage capacity as part of our current storage needs and future growth plans,” Chris Lewis, executive vice president of supply chain at Retail Business Services (RBS), Ahold Delhaize USA’s services arm, said in a statement. “Americold is a leading expert in this space, and we’re confident in their abilities to build state-of-the-art facilities that will meet our needs and serve our omnichannel growth strategy.”

Related:Ahold Delhaize USA plans major supply-chain expansion

In December, Ahold unveiled a three-year, $480 million plan to shift its supply chain to an integrated, self-distribution model. The initiative includes the construction of the two new frozen warehouses plus the acquisition of three warehouses (two in York, Pa., and one in Chester, N.Y.) from C&S Wholesale Grocers and new leases for a recently renovated warehouse in Manchester, Conn., and a C&S facility in Bethlehem, Pa. Keene, N.H.-based C&S has supplied some Ahold Delhaize USA brands.

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The two facilities will bring more automation and advancements such as an integrated transportation management system and end-to-end forecasting and replenishment technology.

Quincy, Mass.-based Ahold said the new frozen storage facilities will bring more automation and advancements such as an integrated transportation management system and end-to-end forecasting and replenishment technology, which will support omnichannel operations and multichannel growth. The two warehouses will create about 200 new jobs apiece.

“We are thrilled to partner with Ahold Delhaize USA to design, build and operate these strategically located retail distribution fulfillment centers over an initial term of the next 20 years,” stated Fred Boehler, president and CEO of Atlanta-based Americold. “With state-of-the-art automation, these two facilities will deliver a combined 59,000 pallet positions to support the local brands of Ahold Delhaize USA in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.”

Related:Ahold Delhaize sketches out COVID-19 investment plan

Ahold said its distribution network will expand to 23 facilities by 2023. The network now includes 16 traditional and e-commerce distribution centers, which supply 1,971 stores across the East Coast as well as fulfill more than 6 million annualized online grocery orders. The company’s supply-chain operations also include over 1,000 trucks that travel more than 120 million miles each year and deliver 1.1 billion cases to stores.

With the expanded distribution network, Ahold’s U.S. grocery brands will have coverage from Maine to Georgia, the retailer said.

“Today’s announcement continues to reinforce how Ahold Delhaize USA is transforming our infrastructure to support the next generation of grocery retail,” Lewis added. “Through this expansion, we will continue to modernize our supply chain distribution, transportation and procurement through a fully integrated, self-distribution model that will be managed by our companies directly and locally. This will result in efficiencies and, most importantly, product availability and freshness for customers of our local brands — now and in the future — whenever, wherever and however they choose to shop.”

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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