English 
In February 2016 AGRO Merchants Group started works on the construction of a new 9,000 square meter cold store in Maasvlakte – in the port of Rotterdam. The new warehouse will add a capacity of 18,000 pallet spaces to the portfolio of the company and it’s expected to be operational by December 2016.
One of the key elements in AGRO’s business strategy is the focus on sustainability. The new greenfield was designed according to the latest standards in close cooperation with local authorities.
BREEAM is an internationally recognized assessment method to determine sustainability performance of buildings. AGRO’s ambition for the new construction is to obtain a BREEAM Excellent certification, which is the highest energy efficiency rating for this type of storage facilities in Europe. To receive a BREEAM Excellent, nine categories of requirements must be fulfilled. These are management, health, energy, transport, water, materials, waste, land use and ecology and pollution.
By using energy-saving and ecologically sound NH3 cooling systems, space-efficient mobile racks, charging stations for electric cars and LED lighting, AGRO wanted to build a durable, modern and environmentally friendly store. These along with several other measures for energy management and water saving were implemented to maximize the energy-efficiency of the building.
Another priority for AGRO in the construction of the new building was that it’s comfortable and healthy for the user and complies with the high demands on thermal comfort, suitable lighting and availability. AGRO also wanted to ensure that environmental impacts would be minimized by reducing CO2 emissions from transport, as well as air and groundwater pollution.
The new facility will be the company’s first greenfield in Europe and will focus on import, export and storage of frozen and refrigerated products, but thanks to the newest leading-edge technologies applied, the warehouse will be able to handle a wide range of other commodities in the future. The new location in Maasvlakte will also replace the integrated border inspection point (BIP) that currently operates in Coldstore Wibaco in Barendrecht.
Jan Harthoorn and Willem Brands commented on behalf of AGRO Merchants Group: “This is a state-of-art warehouse with a comprehensive range of services for customers in the meat and fish industry.”
AGRO Merchants Group ranks as the 5th largest cold storage and logistics network in the world and manages 55 facilities spread across 8 countries. AGRO invests in industry-leading technologies, innovative, environmentally friendly designs and sustainable solutions in its facilities to provide the highest standard of service to their customers and at the same time be ecologically conscious.
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