혁신기술기업 CJ대한통운이 미국에 대규모 콜드체인 물류센터를 구축하며 북미 콜드체인 물류시장 공략을 가속화한다.
2만7천㎡ 규모 냉장·냉동 물류센터 구축 추진…25년 3분기 운영 예정
CJ대한통운은 미국 뉴센추리(New Century) 지역에 냉장, 냉동 제품 물류에 특화된 콜드체인(Cold Chain) 물류센터를 구축한다고 19일 밝혔다. 이 센터는 27,034㎡(8,178평) 규모로 조성되며 오는 2025년 3분기부터 운영될 예정이다.
고속도로, 철도, 항공 등 운송수단 복합 연계 시 미국 전역 85% 이틀 내 운송 가능
이 콜드체인 물류센터가 본격 가동되면 미국 전역의 85% 지역에 이틀 내 운송이 이뤄질 수 있다. 센터 인근 6㎞에 고속도로가 이어지고 20㎞ 이내에 미국 대규모 화물 철도 회사인 BNSF의 대륙횡단선이 위치하고 있어 철도와 연계한 장거리 운송이 용이하다. 고속도로, 철도, 항공 등 다양한 운송수단들이 복합적으로 연계될 경우 미국 내륙뿐 아니라 국경을 넘는 운송에서도 물류 효율성이 높아질 수 있다.
이 센터는 글로벌 식품기업 ‘업필드(Upfield)’제품을 대상으로 물류를 수행할 계획이다. 공장에서 출하된 제품들이 물류센터로 즉시 입고될 수 있도록 뉴센추리에 있는 업필드 생산공장과 물류센터가 컨베이어로 연결될 예정이다. 이를 통해 제품의 신선도와 물류 효율성이 동시에 높아질 수 있을 것으로 기대된다. CJ대한통운은 향후 업필드 외에도 다양한 고객사에 수준 높은 콜드체인 물류 서비스를 제공해 나갈 방침이다.
철저한 온도관리 요구하는 고부가가치 콜드체인 산업군…첨단 물류기술로 적극 공략
CJ대한통운은 콜드체인 물류사업 확대에 적극 나서고 있다. 미국 조지아주 게인스빌에 약 2만5천㎡ 규모의 콜드체인 물류센터가 구축되고 있으며 올해 안에 본격 운영될 예정이다. 지난 3월에는 미국에서 열린 세계적인 물류산업전시회 ‘MODEX 2024’에 참가해 콜드체인 물류 서비스를 대대적으로 소개한 바 있다.
CJLA(CJ Logistics America)의 케빈 콜먼(Kevin Coleman) 최고경영자(CEO)는 “콜드체인 물류는 보관, 재고관리, 운송 등 전과정에서 철저한 온도관리를 필요로 하는 고난이도·고부가가치 산업분야”라며 “CJ대한통운이 구축한 90여 년의 물류 운영 경험과 첨단화된 기술력을 토대로 북미 콜드체인 시장을 적극 공략해 나갈 것”이라고 말했다.
The dining habits of American consumers have been changing recently. Now the important question they ask is not what should we eat, but rather how can we eat fresher and healthier. A growing number of people are seeking fresh fruits and vegetables and healthy foods such as vegan and clean label products are popular. Particularly noteworthy is that as refrigerated frozen foods are positioning themselves as alternatives to fresh foods, the US frozen foods market is growing rapidly. By 2030, the US frozen foods market is expected to post a revenue of $280 billion and an annual average growth rate of 8.1%. And some of the changes are also production related. So the big one there is technological advancing. Freezing technologies like flash freezing or IQF preserve nutrients and flavors and frozen foods can be made to taste and have the same texture of restaurant quality meals. Joey Davidson is the senior director of business development at CJ Logistics America who enjoys spending time with his family. He used to be a chicken farmer in the poultry industry. There is probably no one paying closer attention to poultry cold chain logistics and cold chain logistics at large. Cold chain logistics is the infrastructure, the technology and the process that allows for the safe storage and transport of temperature sensitive goods along the supply chain. Maintaining the integrity of the coal chain is so vitally important primarily for product quality to ensure the desired quality and consistency while preventing microbial growth and degradation and for food safety reducing the risk of food born illnesses by preventing the proliferation of bacteria on perishable food items. The global cold chain market is projected to reach $190 billion by 2025. The US makes up a large portion with a cold chain market valued at $50 billion. And leading the cold chain industry in America is none other than the state of Georgia. We entered the public refrigerated warehousing market or PRW market of cold storage. Though just in November of 2024 with the opening of our flagship PRW warehouse in Gainesville, Georgia, we started handling fresh protein poultry for the very first time. This was a significant step forward toward achieving our strategy of driving cold chain growth to serve our existing ambient customers by expanding into cold storage to accommodate their needs and to grow with new customers with production and demand capabilities. Another key reason for selecting North Georgia for our first public refrigerated warehouse is all of the food production facilities located within a 100 mile radius of our warehouse. Gainesville, Georgia is known as the poultry capital of the world. Our warehouse is surrounded by multiple chicken processing plants and they need a close proximity freezer to meet their needs. Quite strategic, right? But there is a more important reason that CJLA chose Georgia. Georgia is a key strategic geography for CJ. Not only did CJLA have multiple operations in the Atlanta area, but this is an area where our sister company CJ Food Schwan has a significant presence. And also CJ Foodville is making a large investment in production capabilities. In fact, our new freezer warehouse is only 10 miles from CJ Foodville’s new plant being constructed in Gainesville and opening up later this year. Our warehouse is designed to support different product needs, including the proteins like chicken, but also finished goods and bakery items. All of our space is convertible, which means that we can adjust the temperature to serve the various temperature requirements of our customers. Within the next few weeks, we will also be storing and distributing baked goods coming from CJ Foodville. Some of these products will be stored in the freezer requiring -10° F and some products requiring just refrigeration. Wow, that is great news for CJ Foods, Schwans, and Tulleure. At the Gainesville Cold Chain Logistics Center in Georgia, there are six separate storage rooms for various products with different storage temperatures. The 270,000 square ft facility also has shelves for storing 30,000 products. It is also outfitted with more than 50 trailer unloading docks and 38 truck loading unloading docks, each measuring 21 m long. Once you have a facility to secure diverse products, the next order of business is to keep the quality of frozen products in its optimal state. How did CJLA tackle this? Another key cold storage technology used for our building is the Pipman’s QFM blast freezing at temperatures of minus20° F. This technology allows us to lower the temperature of fresh chicken from around 38° when it comes to us to the minus 10° F that it needs to get to reach within 24 hours or less. that helps this helps to minimize any chance of food food born bacteria being introduced into the cold chain. Thanks to such efforts, the Gainesville Cold Chain Logistics Center is more than 50% booked and is in discussions with potential clients to operate at full capacity by the end of this year. We are very excited about our future in the cold chain. We are getting things ready to launch our next cold storage warehouse in Kansas City just this coming summer. We’re continuing to build relationships and organizational infrastructure which will allow us to pursue a very aggressive pipeline of coal chain operation opportunities. Our experience in servicing the ethnic food markets will also allow for expansion opportunities across the country and North America for them. So, what do you think? Doesn’t it look like CJLA will drive CJ’s growth? CJLA is taking a new leap forward in the US logistic market with its cold chain logistics centers. We can’t wait to see CJLA’s bright future as it expands K logistics domain in the United States, the heart of the global cold chain market.
