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Facility Development: Houston

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Houston: New Refrigerated Cargo Storage Facility for Bayport Container Terminal

AGRO Merchants Group is planning to build a 300,000-square-foot temperature-controlled cargo facility at the Port of Houston Authority’s Bayport Container Terminal.

Upon completion, the new facility will add to the infrastructure already in place at Bayport, which opened in 2007 and is one of the newest container facilities on the Gulf Coast.

"We are extremely excited to build a new facility that will provide our customers with industry-leading solutions and cost-effective alternatives to move product into and out of the U.S., especially in the Gulf Region," said AGRO President Don Schoenl. "In Houston, we plan to leverage our property’s proximity to the Bayport Terminal to take advantage of legal transportation limits on overweight cargo and provide important rail and intermodal service capabilities."

The plan calls for a multi-use building that will include state-of-the-art warehouse space for the storage, import and export of chilled and frozen meat, fish, poultry, fruits and vegetables.

The first phase will occupy more than 12 acres, with ample room for expansion. The facility will offer customers innovative and value-added services for chilled goods moving across the docks at the port authority.

This expansion will allow the port growth opportunities in the refrigerated cargo sector, which has been restricted until now.

Inspection and handling facilities for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, blast- freezing cells and deep truck docks with ample doors for shipping and receiving will be included. The facility will have segregated frozen and chilled warehouse space to support a diverse array of products and include value-added capabilities geared toward protein and produce commodities. The site is expected to be operational by summer 2017.

AGRO Merchants Group owns and operates 53 facilities in the United States, Europe, and Latin America, with over 700,000 square meters of cold storage space.

"We welcome AGRO Merchants Group and the additional cold storage capacity the company will bring to regional and global customers to help support trade growth and create economic activity through our port," said Port Authority Executive Director Roger Guenther. "This is a win-win for the port authority, AGRO and the Houston region overall."
 

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