Officials and dignitaries take shovels in hand Wednesday for the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Americold expansion in Rochelle. From left: Jon Scholtes, field rep for U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger; state Rep. Tom Demmer; Rochelle Mayor Chet Olson, Fred Boehler, president and CEO of Americold; Sean McCarthy, director Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; Tim Hinckley, chief commercial officer, Americold; and Dan Lundquist, general manager of the Rochelle Americold facility.

Officials and dignitaries take shovels in hand Wednesday for the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Americold expansion in Rochelle. From left: Jon Scholtes, field rep for U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger; state Rep. Tom Demmer; Rochelle Mayor Chet Olson, Fred Boehler, president and CEO of Americold; Sean McCarthy, director Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; Tim Hinckley, chief commercial officer, Americold; and Dan Lundquist, general manager of the Rochelle Americold facility.

 

ROCHELLE – Americold is expanding, adding an $80 million, 140-foot-tall freezer that will bring 70 new jobs to the city.

The company broke ground this week on its new facility, a frozen food warehouse and distribution center with an automated storage and retrieval system, marking its second addition since coming to this Ogle County town in 1995.

It will be attached to the warehouse at 1010 Americold Drive and create an additional 57,600 pallet positions for storage.

“It is a game-changer when a company integrates advanced technology into its operations. Rochelle is proud to be home to another one of Americold’s automatic storage and retrieval system distribution centers,” said Jason Anderson, director of the Greater Rochelle Economic Development Corp.

The project is scheduled to be complete by the end of next year, and the company’s footprint will total more than 33.5 million cubic feet of temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics space.

“Americold’s decision to expand in Rochelle is proof again that we are the Midwest hub for frozen food distribution; we appreciate their continued reinvestment in the city of Rochelle,” Mayor Chet Olson said in a news release.

Increasing the company’s storage capacity will allow them to take on more business in the Chicago area, Americold President and CEO Fred Boehler said.

“Working with some of our key partners, we identified the opportunity to update and expand our campus just an hour east of Chicagoland, and to offer both automated and conventional storage and distribution options,” Boehler said.

MORE INFO

Call 815-562-1047, go to americold.com or find the company on Facebook for more information about Americold, 915 S. Caron Road and 1010 Americold Drive, in Rochelle.

The Atlanta, Georgia, based business operates 165 temperature-controlled warehouses across the globe, serves more than 2500 customers and employs 11,000 associates.