“We intend to open the new Cold Store on 1 February 2019. Construction is in full swing, and the outside of the building has already been completed", says Pascal Gybels. He is the Quality Assurance Officer at the Belgian storage company, Luik Natie.
“The new Cold Store is to be used primarily for products such as fruit, honey, and potatoes. The new refrigerated storage area is mainly being built for new clients and to accommodate the growth of our existing ones." This new storage facility is being built on the port of Antwerp's left bank, close to the terminals. This location saves clients time and money.
"Everything under one roof"
“What makes this new cold store unusual is that the food agency has an inspection office onsite. This is unique in the port of Antwerp. We also have our own customs warehouse. In addition, we have an in-house self-checking facility for some of our clients. It is beneficial to clients that we have every under one roof", says Pascal.
Luik Natie's other locations are currently full. This lack of space is why the new building is sorely needed. "Once the new cold store is finished, we intend to start building a new frozen goods warehouse. This facility will have space for more than 22.000 pallets. Its opening is planned for 1 February 2020.”
Frozen goods market
Luik Natie is currently seeing a sharp increase in demand for many products. “In the fruit market, there is mainly a demand for the kinds of fruits that are becoming less expensive. These include bananas and organic products”, explains Gybels. Europe remains one of the largest product buyers. “There is little growth in Asia at the moment."
"The fresh market is growing. We have also noticed that the frozen goods market is growing rapidly too. We do a lot of meat and fish but also many potato products like fries. For the most part, we see this increased demand for storage space for mainly export-directed products ."
The new cold storage facility is being constructed to be entirely C02 neutral. It has its own wind and solar energy supply. "We decided to set up the new locations in an ecological way. We, as a company, think it is important to consider the future. Our clients, however, also find this to be increasingly important", Pascal concludes.
For more information:
Pascal Gybels
Luik Natie
1145 Kruipin Harbour
9130 Kallo – Belgium
Tel: +32 (0) 35 61 63 00
info@luiknatie.be
www.luiknatie.be