Warehousing World - January 2010

AmeriCold Again Tops in PRW Capacity Followed by VersaCold, Millard, USCS

Global Top 25 total shows five percent increase in storage capacity over 2008.

AmeriCold, VersaCold, Millard, Swire/United States Cold Storage and Preferred Freezer Services are the world’s top five refrigerated warehouse operators, according to the latest annual survey by the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses (IARW).

The IARW International Top 25 list ranks public refrigerated warehouses (PRWs) with the greatest capacity of warehouse space on the planet. The combined space of IARW’s total membership, including the International Top 25 members and North America’s Top 25, saw a five percent increase compared to 2008, operating approximately 3.8 billion cubic feet (110.2 million cubic meters).

“The growth in our industry during a challenging economic downturn is a testament to the longevity and strength of this industry,” said IARW President and CEO Bill Hudson. “The demand for the food products and commodities that PRWs typically handle remains fairly consistent. The industry expansion has come primarily from customers looking to use PRWs to streamline operations and cut costs.”

The International Top 25 operates 2.8 billion cubic feet (79.8 million cubic meters) and North America’s Top 25 operates 2.4 billion cubic feet (68.7 million cubic meters). The International Top 25 includes PRW companies from Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, Vietnam and the USA.

“IARW now represents almost all of the major companies in 65 countries around the world,” said Hudson.

A complete listing of IARW members may be found in the 2010 Global Cold Chain Directory, which will be published in March. The 500-page guide features sections in which manufacturers, distributors and retailers can find a global selection of coldstores, refrigerated transportation companies, cold storage design experts, and suppliers to the industry.

AmeriCold Planning to Go Public, Then Take over Versacold Units 

Americold Realty Trust, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, which operates the AmeriCold network of public and dedicated refrigerated warehouses, plans to go public, having filed a Firm S-11 registration statement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a proposed $690 million initial public offering of its common stock shares.

The company, which is controlled by investment funds affiliated with The Yucaipa Companies LLC, said it would use proceeds from the offering, along with a concurrent offering of senior secured notes, to acquire warehouses currently owned by Canada’s Versacold International Corp., itself an affiliate of Yucaipa. After the offering Americold will own 175 warehouses, doing business mostly in the United States.

Americold, which said in its filing that it had no experience operating as a stand-alone, publicly-traded REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust), reported revenues of $581 million in the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2009, down 10.4% from a year earlier. It posted a net loss of $24.6 million, 36.1% worse than for 2008. The figures are adjusted for the company’s current ownership by Yucaipa.

The joint underwriters of the offering are Goldman, Sachs & Co. and J.P. Morgan Securities Inc.,with Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., RBC Capital Markets Corporation and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC acting as co-managers.

 
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