Seamless logistics for temperature-sensitive cargoes become increasingly important with a growing demand for fresh fruits, proteins, and pharmaceutical products. Maersk is building and maintaining a global network of dedicated cold store facilities to provide reliable and safe end-to-end logistics for these perishable products. Completing a state-of-the-art cold store in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) marks the latest addition to this network of owned and leased specialized warehouses.

Less than 1.5 years after the official groundbreaking and start of construction, Maersk has now welcomed the first fresh grapes of the South African fruit exporter Grape Alliance in its new cold store in Rotterdam. "Our cold store significantly improves the speed and reliability in refrigerated supply chains, and hence the quality of temperature sensitive and frozen products on their way to European consumers," says Ole Trumpfheller, Managing Director of Maersk Area North Europe Continent comprising Benelux, the D, A, CH countries and Poland.

The newly opened 35,000 sqm facility is located next to one of Europe's most modern terminals, Maasvlakte II, operated by the Maersk subsidiary APM Terminals.

This guarantees seamless processes and optimal, friction-free handling of reefer containers. The proximity to the terminal allows us to offer more integrated and, thus, more resilient supply chain solutions at our Rotterdam logistics hub.

A capacity of more than 34,000 pallet positions will make the cold store a key component of Maersk's integrated Reefer and cold chain logistics offering pharmaceuticals, fruits, meat, and fish in North-West Europe. Furthermore, empty-referred equipment can be returned to Maersk's owned and newly expanded Star Depot next to the cold store, reducing potential additional D&D costs for customers.

Fresh produce customers will receive more insights and a 3D model of the cold store, including virtual reality tours of the warehouse, at the Fruit Logistica trade fair in Berlin (5-7 Feb. 2025) at the Maersk booth H-41 in hall 26.

Facts about the cold storage warehouse:

· Customs bonded facility

· Inhouse veterinary inspection point

· Low emission facility with BREEAM Excellent certification and renewable energy.