State-of-the-art cold storage facility opens alongside Alameda Corridor.

A 221,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art cold storage facility, the largest in L.A. County, is opening next month to store imported, exported and domestic food.

The immense blue-and-white, $40 million structure, located on Coil Avenue in Wilmington, sprawls across 16 acres adjacent to where the pending Alameda Corridor is expected to pass. The corridor is a planned $1.8-billion, 18-mile consolidated truck and rail thoroughfare expected to connect the ports of L.A. and Long Beach with downtown L.A. warehousing facilities, factories and rail yards.

The facility also sits just a few miles from each of the two ports. Its grand opening is set for Dec. 9.

The facility was built and is owned by Konoike Transportation & Engineering U.S.A. Inc. This is a subsidiary of Konoike Transportation Ltd., an Osaka, Japan-based transportation, cold storage and construction company.

Konoike Transportation & Engineering also owns half of the company that is operating the facility, Konoike-Pacific California Inc. The other half is owned by two Americans, Gordon Maclean and Jerry Ray.

Largest of its kind

There are 20 or 30 cold storage facilities in the Los Angeles area, but -- with its square footage and 40-foot-high ceilings -- this is the largest, said Bill Thompson, vice president of marketing with Konoike-Pacific California.

A competitor who wished to remain anonymous agreed that it is probably the largest in the county. "It's extremely large, ridiculously large," the competitor said.

In fact, the facility might have trouble attracting enough business to fill it, the competitor said.

But Thompson said, "We're quite in demand right now. We have understandings with people. We haven't signed contracts yet," he said, refusing to name the facility's potential customers.

Aside from its sheer size, the facility's refrigeration system and construction are state-of-the-art unique, Thompson said. The freezers' computerized refrigeration systems are efficient and extremely accurate in maintaining the correct temperature, he said.

Facility has no beams

Furthermore, the structure is literally supported by tall steel racks that reach the ceiling and hold pallets on which food is placed. Thus, the structure does not need the support of beams, which take up precious storage space, Thompson said.

There are two freezers inside, one 92,000 square feet and the other 29,000 square feet.

The temperature in the larger freezer will stay fixed at minus-30 degrees Fahrenheit, Ray said. It will hold just frozen foods, such as poultry, fish, beef and ice cream, Ray said.

The temperature inside the smaller freezer, meanwhile, can fluctuate from minus-30 degrees to 35 degrees Fahrenheit. It could be used to store delicatessen meats and dairy products, along with frozen foods, but not both at the same time, Ray said.

Food from everywhere

Konoike-Pacific California aims to have about 40 percent of the food stored at its facility either be imported or geared for export, and 60 percent to be moving between domestic markets, Thompson said.

Food exported from the facility will primarily serve Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Rim, Thompson said. It could be comprised of poultry, soy products and citrus juice concentrates, among other foods, he said.

Imports, such as frozen boneless beef, fish and seafood, are likely to come from Australia and New Zealand as well, he said.

Domestically, the facility will serve local food manufacturers that distribute to the southwest region. Domestic products may include frozen dinners and bakery products, Thompson said. Many packaged bakery products are frozen in storage before they are delivered to grocery stores, he explained.