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AC Logistics and Glacier Megafridge signed a joint venture agreement to construct and operate a cold storage facility in Cagayan de Oro
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The facility broke ground on Nov 18
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It is expected to start operations in late 2022
AC Logistics Holdings Corp. and Glacier Megafridge, Inc. (GMI) have signed a joint venture agreement to construct and operate a cold storage facility in Cagayan de Oro.
The cold chain facility, which broke ground on November 18, is situated in Tablon, Cagayan De Oro and is expected to service the needs of local and multinational companies in Northern Mindanao.
Operations will begin in late 2022.
“We envision a closed loop corridor that preserves and prolongs shelf life of both local and imported meat and poultry, fish catch and farm produce from traders, manufacturers and producers in and around the region,” GMI president and chief executive officer (CEO) Arturo Yan said in a statement.
Yan said the facility “dovetails with our objectives of bringing facilities closer to key sources of food, providing a prospect of better incomes for farmers and fishermen and providing safe, secure and sufficient products at stable prices to consumers.”
Fernando Zobel de Ayala, president and CEO of AC Logistics parent company Ayala Corp., added: “Food safety and security are top concerns for many Filipinos while limited market access and low incomes have kept generations of food producers struggling. I am delighted at the prospect of the Ayala group having a direct positive impact on our country’s food security through this partnership with GMI. This aligns perfectly with our group’s sustainability thrusts and with the UN’s [United Nations] sustainable development goals”.
Ayala Corp noted “a shortage in capacity to meet the growth in the country’s cold storage needs for food production and consumption” and that the current need to keep and preserve temperature-sensitive vaccines and other healthcare products in cold storage facilities exacerbates the shortfall.
AC Logistics president and CEO Rene Almendras said: “This maiden venture into cold chain for AC Logistic embodies our aspiration to help meet our country’s need for these types of facilities and services. Cold storage and delivery capabilities in the AC Logistics group will open synergies with our various operating companies. It will enable us to better serve our country’s growing need for logistical cold chain service delivery in present and emerging industries and business ecosystems.”
GMI is one of the largest cold chain storage and logistical services providers in the Philippines. The company provides integrated cold chain operations including cold storage warehousing, blast freezing, inventory management, transport management, distribution, and logistics.
AC Logistics is Ayala Corp.’s new wholly-owned subsidiary for investments in the logistics sector.
