Eskimo Cold Storage broke ground Tuesday on a new freezer building located on Athens Highway in Gainesville.
According to a press release from the company, the 225,000-square-foot freezer will increase Eskimo Cold Storage's capacity and potential for business for decades to come.
The freezer will be 66 feet tall and includes a two-part freezer system consisting of a 78,000-square-feet push back rack (Freezer A) and a 96,000-square-feet shuttle rack (Freezer B), which will be a semi-automated system with the entire facility being held at zero degrees.
The commercial freezer is expected to open in November 2024.
Eskimo President Steve Williams and Vice President Karen Reece have been business partners for over 35 years. The two opened the first Eskimo cold warehouse in 2007. The new freezer will be located adjacent to Eskimo's existing 250,000-square-foot freezer. The expansion is being constructed to accommodate growing needs.
"Our passion for warehousing began many years ago. We are dedicated to the freezer industry and this new freezer will allow us to continue to meet our clients' growing warehousing needs," Williams said. "We are proud of our company growth and look forward to working with the design-build team at Carroll Daniel Construction to see our vision come to fruition."
Eskimo handles frozen foods ranging from poultry to seafood with the ability to blast freeze products and have them ready for shipment the next day.
Carroll Daniel Construction was selected as the design-build partner for the project and will manage the project out of their Gainesville headquarters.
"We understand the critical role that Eskimo Cold Storage plays in the growth and success of logistics, supply chain and storage in our region," said Brian Daniel, President and CEO of Carroll Daniel Construction. "We're excited to be partnering with Eskimo Cold Storage as the design-builder of this project, providing design and construction expertise for their new, state-of-the-art freezer systems."
