Burley will get a massive cold storage facility

NewCold, based in The Netherlands, will build a $90 million, 25 million-cubic-foot cold storage warehouse in Burley to store frozen French fries for manufacturer McCain Foods, which itself is expanding right now, Burley City Administrator Mark Mitton said.

“It can be used for other frozen storage, too,” Mitton said.

He added the 180,0000-square-foot, 140-foot tall sub-zero cold storage facility will have about 80 employees.

Gov. C.L “Butch” Otter announced NewCold’s commitment to Idaho  at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s SelectUSA Investment Summit and Washington, D.C.

“This huge new addition to our food distribution chain will help keep Idaho on the leading edge of innovation when it comes to farm-to-market efficiency and delivering high-quality, Idaho-grown foods to the world,” Otter said in a news release.

The Burley warehouse follows on the heels of the May 24 opening of NewCold’s first U.S. cold storage warehouse in Tacoma. NewCold has seven storage facilities in France, Germany, England, Poland, two in Australia and the one Tacoma.

The Burley facility will have a rail spur to perishable foods company Watco’s short line rail facility next door.

NewCold will have the nation’s largest European-style frozen storage facility in Burley, said Doug Manning, Burley’s economic development director.

“As processors in our region continue to grow, this highly automated, energy efficient facility will support the frozen storage needs of current and future Idaho businesses for decades to come,” Burley said in a release. “I really think this is going to be a game-changer not only for the City of Burley, but for the entire region.”

NewCold joins other large employers in Burley such as  Ag Express, Americold Logistics, Boise Paper Holdings, BRP Health Management Systems, DOT Foods, High Desert Milk and McCain Foods.