Cold Chain Integrity (CCI), a United Dairy Farmers company, will construct a $20 million cold storage facility in Erlanger creating 50 full-time jobs, Gov. Matt Bevin announced Wednesday.
“We are committed to cultivating a healthy environment for businesses across Kentucky to succeed, and that includes everyone from our farmers to major manufacturing and service providers,” Gov. Bevin said. “This announcement by United Dairy Farmers and Cold Chain Integrity highlights those efforts, and we applaud their decision to grow their presence in Northern Kentucky. The 50 new positions will provide employment opportunities in the region, and the additional public storage will benefit local small businesses.”
CCI recently broke ground for the new 115,000-square-foot ultra-low-temperature public refrigerated facility on its existing warehousing and distribution campus in Erlanger. The 6.9-million-cubic-foot high-rise, high-density warehouse will serve existing large-scale customers and offer public storage for local small business owners and non-profit organizations.
Company leaders expect the facility to open by summer 2019. The new jobs will include drivers, office, administrative and warehouse positions.
“CCI is a key part of our long-term vision and strategy as an organization,” said Mark Wilson, spokesperson for UDF. “We are excited to partner with the Governor and the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development in the continued growth of our business.”
CCI is a third-party logistics company and a unit of United Dairy Farmers (UDF). CCI provides cold storage warehousing and transportation services for the food, flavoring and pharmaceutical industries. At 460,000 square feet under roof, CCI’s current facilities handle a wide range of refrigerated and frozen products held at temperatures from -25F to 60F. The company works closely with numerous Kentucky Proud businesses.
CCI’s customer base of local, regional and national companies grew significantly the past five years. In addition, state and local economic development groups have targeted the food industry as a sector for expansion in Northern Kentucky. The new building will help CCI meet the industry’s growing demand.
UDF operates 170 dairy stores across Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. UDF stores sell high-quality proprietary products including hand-dipped ice cream, premium coffee and other fresh foods and dairy products. Established in 1940, UDF today remains family owned and headquartered in Norwood, Ohio.
UDF’s multiple other business units include manufacturing, wholesale ice cream, real estate, warehousing, transportation and petroleum transportation.
Erlanger Mayor Tyson Hermes said the community welcomes the company’s growth and investment.
“We are very pleased that United Dairy Farmers, dba Cold Chain Integrity, made the decision to expand their existing Erlanger operation,” Mayor Hermes said. “This decision is a testament to UDF’s commitment to support local communities and our belief that Erlanger’s geographic location, and four consecutive years of lowering property taxes, makes Erlanger an attractive place to conduct business. We are very thankful to UDF for this expansion and the additional 50 jobs that it brings. We look forward to our continued good working relationship with UDF.”
Boone County Judge-Executive Gary Moore, the current chair of Northern Kentucky Tri-ED, noted the region’s ability to attract logistics and distribution projects.
“The fact that Cold Chain Integrity has chosen to open their second location in Erlanger validates the strategic advantage Northern Kentucky has for efficient distribution to national and international customers,” Judge-Executive Moore said.
To watch construction of the new cold storage facility in progress, visit the website.
