Frozen Assets Cold Storage Inaugurates State-of-the-Art 3Pl Warehouse-Distribution Facility on Chicago Southwest Side.

CHICAGO -- Frozen Assets Cold Storage, LLC, a third-party logistics company formed last March, has commenced operations in a new 7,000,000 cubic-foot public refrigerated warehouse and distribution facility on Chicago's near-Southwest side, the first unit in a national program to establish as many as 15 similar facilities over the next several years, it was announced by Thomas Smith, president.

According to Smith, security received special attention in planning the facility. Its state-of-the-art high-tech security system includes a retina-recognition personnel entry management system and 24-hour monitoring of some 30 video cameras situated throughout the building.

The 250,000 square-foot, single-level facility is located at 2635 South Western Avenue, and features an 18,000-pallet freezer, a 10,000 pallet-position cooler and three -35 degree blast cells, each with space for 45 pallets. It has 22 truck bays that open to a 40,000 square-foot inbound-outbound dock and, in a Chicago public refrigerated warehousing "first," it also has a 10-door refrigerated rail siding.

The company employs state-of-the-art logistics management software and material handling resources that enable it to receive, store, retrieve, repackage and ship products of multiple clients from multiple points of origin and to multiple destinations concurrently with speed and precision. It accommodates any type of food product, focusing on meat, poultry, seafood, bakery goods, vegetables, and beverages.

The facility was developed for Frozen Assets Cold Storage by Urban Investment Research Corporation, a Chicago-headquartered real estate development and investment firm that is also a partner in the new logistics enterprise. Financing was structured by First Bank & Trust Company of Illinois, Palatine, a half-billion-dollar-asset real estate-oriented institution that conducts business nationwide.

"This was an especially complex project, involving both a real estate transaction and a brand-new business in a special-use facility that many banks are reluctant to consider," said Robert J. Walter, executive vice president. "By applying an aggressive hands-on approach, we were able to close the financing quickly and also to lend expertise throughout the development."

Added Smith: "The commitment of the First Bank team was invaluable in getting the facility completed and into operation in an extremely short time. The creative financing they were able to structure worked out extraordinarily well for all concerned."

Among Frozen Assets Cold Storage's inaugural customers are Azteca Foods, Inc., a national manufacturer and distributor of an extensive line of Mexican food products such as tortillas, chips and salad shells; and Lincoln Provisions, Inc., a fabricator and international marketer of beef products. Both companies are based in Chicago.

Lincoln Provisions, Inc. is consolidating internally and externally warehoused inventory with Frozen Assets Cold Storage and by doing so it expects to achieve significant cost, efficiency and operating advantages.

"Frozen Assets Cold Storage has created the most modern facility in Chicago," said Lincoln Provisions President Jim Stevens. "Most of the previously available refrigerated warehouse space is quite old and in multi-story buildings and much of it might be considered substandard. Frozen Assets offers a brand-new, state-of-the-art single-level facility with excellent fulfillment services, a true blast freezer and an excellent warehouse management system. Moreover, it has the only rail siding within 60 miles, which will be very important as we accelerate our national growth plans. This would be valuable even if it were not nearby."

Azteca Foods, Inc. is also located on Chicago's Southwest Side, which was one of the compelling reasons for the company's associating with the new warehousing firm.

"Frozen Assets Cold Storage's new facility is close to our production location, which makes it an attractive alternative to maintaining our own inventory or to dispersing product to other warehouse resources," said Arthur R. Velasquez, president and CEO of Azteca Foods, Inc. "When we visited the plant we were extremely impressed with the attention the company has paid to security, which our customers demand, and with its ability to move product in and out quickly and under precise management control. We anticipate substantial growth and Frozen Assets is positioned very well to support this growth."

The new facility is an ideal logistics center not only for Chicago-based food processors and distributors, but for companies situated almost anywhere on the continent, Smith noted.

"Not only is this the agricultural heartland and one of the nation's primary food processing and distribution centers, but it is also the hub of the North American rail, trucking and air transportation system," he said. "Our initial marketing efforts assure us that the national food processing and marketing industry will respond very favorably to this new enterprise."

"Our receiving and shipping operations will be coast-to-coast and multi-modal in nature," said David Smith, vice president of operations. "Our state-of-the-art hardware and software systems equip us to handle an exceptional diversity of products and deliver optimum service to the companies that trust us with their goods. At the same time, these systems provide our own company with the flexibility we will need to move our expansion plans forward."

Frozen Assets Cold Storage expansion plans call for a minimum of one new facility to open every year. As they open, the facilities will be networked over high-speed data lines with company's advanced third-party logistics software system, Delfour Corporation's SmartEnterprise 2 solution.

Further information can be obtained by contacting Tom Smith, 312-617-1570 or email [e-mail].