PRW space still growing in the USA despite signs of economic slowdown: taller buildings allow denser racking to maximize usable space and minimize energy costs. Some operators are getting into alternative refrigerants. Scattered responses to annual QFFI/IARW survey show inventories up, but turnover remains about the same.

Build they must for a greater frozen food industry. People keep eating, and there are more mouths to feed every year. Refrigerated warehouse operators have to keep pace, and they do with new construction, expansion and renovation.

Usable freezer space at refrigerated warehouses in the United States reached almost 2.063 billion cubic feet last year, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). That was a two percent increase over 2.022 billion two years earlier, which in turn was a 2.5% gain over 1.972 billion in 2003.

Warehouse operators are evidently making better use of their space, because usable capacity has been growing faster than gross capacity, which was up only 1.3% to 2.543 billion cubic feet as of Oct 1, 2007, versus 2.501 billion for 2005, according to the biennial USDA report released in January.

It's all about rising energy costs, explained Joseph Bove, vice president of engineering at Stellar, Inc., Jacksonville, Florida, which designs, builds and helps equip coldstores. "They're trying to minimize operating costs by making use of every possible cubic foot," he told Quick Frozen Foods International (QFFI).

Including cooler space, usable refrigerated capacity reached 3.256 billion cubic feet last year, a 2.3% increase from 3.180 billion in 2005. Because many operators have convertible space, the actual figures may vary over the course of a year for individual warehouses, let alone for formal reports to the USDA every two years.

Public refrigerated warehouses dominate the frozen segment of the industry, with 1,717 billion cubic feet of usable space, up 2.9% from 1,668 billion in 2005. Private and semi-private operators accounted for only 343 million cubic feet, a decline from 345 million in 2005. But the share of cooler space is higher for private and semi-private operations.

The trend in PRWs is towards fewer but larger installations, and this has been especially true over the past two years, according to the USDA: the count dropped from 823 in 2005 to 792 last year, whereas the decline for the previous two years had been modest, from 827 in 2003. The count of private facilities, by contrast, was up to 709 last year versus 681 in 2005 and 655 in 2003: that means a trend towards smaller operations. Specialized facilities for apple and pear storage have declined steadily.

Refrigerated warehouses tend to be taller now, to maximize storage volume, Stellar's Bove told QFFI. Taller buildings provide more rack positions, and the space between racks and walls is being minimized. Additionally, aisles are becoming more narrow, and storage racks are being extended over cross aisles; where the aisles used to reach from floor to ceiling, they have now been reduced to tunnels at some operations. Canted rack designs are yet another space saving measure.

Even if they can't meet certification standards, warehouse operators are trying to comply as closely as possible with standards of the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, Bove said, because it's good business practice. Increasing the percentage of usable space by increasing the density of the racks makes it easier to cool the building. So does increasing the R value of the thermal envelope, using lighter colors for roofs to make them more reflective, and installing energy control systems.

But while today's PRWs are larger and more fully-racked, bigger isn't necessarily better as an end in itself, Bove said. That's why there are more but smaller private operations--the better for manufacturers and retailers to serve their customers/stores and make restocking more efficient. Some PRWs are also going after that business; at Jonesboro, Arkansas, Millard Refrigerated Services put up a facility for exclusive use of a Nestle plant making frozen dinners and pizzas under the Stouffer's and Lean Cuisine brands.

California has the greatest concentration of freezer space in the United States, at 209 million cubic feet. Washington comes in second at 136 million and Texas third at 122 million, followed by Florida at 119 million and Georgia at 113 million. But the top two states were actually down from 212 million and 146 million in 2005, and Florida fell sharply from 128 million; whereas Texas and Georgia were way up from 91 million and 69 million.

QFFI/IARW Survey Responses Down

Response to the annual refrigerated logistics survey co-sponsored by Quick Frozen Foods International and the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses (IARW) was sparse this year--too sparse to draw any concrete conclusions about plans for construction, purchase of equipment, or trends in inventory or turnover. But some responses jump out on a purely anecdotal basis.

While ammonia is the refrigerant of choice for most Among PRW operators in the United States, for example, one regional chain is going with R22, a hydrochlorofluorocarbon that is supposed to be phased out for new equipment by 2010 under the Montreal Protocol for protection of the ozone layer. After 2020, operators will still be allowed to use R22 in existing systems, but suppliers won't be allowed to produce any more of it. Putting in new R22 systems now means getting in before the deadline.

"As R-22 is gradually phased out, non-ozone-depleting alternative refrigerants are being introduced," the US Environmental Protection Agency says at its web-site. "Under the Clean Air Act, EPA reviews alternatives to ozone-depleting substances like R-22 in order to evaluate their effects on human health and the environment. EPA has reviewed several of these alternatives to R-22 and has compiled a list of substitutes that EPA has determined are acceptable. One of these substitutes is R-410A, a blend of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), substances that do not contribute to depletion of the ozone layer, but, like R-22, contribute to global warming."

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Global warming. There's the rub. When the Montreal Protocol was adopted, it was all about ozone--but now HFCs, viewed then as the ultimate solution, are starting to get a bad name. Even ammonia is starting to get a bad name, although, as John A. Charles Jr., president of the Cascade Policy Institute points out, 64% of the ammonia emissions come from livestock.

For the 20th anniversary of the Protocol, delegates in Montreal agreed to cut remaining consumption of (HCFCs) by more than 20% in developed countries between the years 2010 and 2030. Furthermore, they agreed for the first time to a phase down schedule for HCFC consumption for developing countries that will cut overall use by about 50% between 2010 and 2040.

"The new HCFC reductions will assist the recovery of the earth's ozone layer and also help to mitigate climate change," said Nick Campbell, chairman of the European Fluorocarbons Technical Committee (EFCTC). "They will also allow for the more rapid introduction of important technologies relying on non-ozone-depleting substances." EFCTC member companies have played a leading role in the introduction of alternatives to ozone depleting substances.

But both Sanyo and ACC (see compressor feature story on page 124) have developed carbon dioxide systems as an alternative to HFCs and ammonia alike, and United States Cold Storage (USCS), Voorhees, New Jersey, has implemented a CO2 system in partnership with yet another supplier.

For its new coldstores in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Lake City, Florida (See sidebar on this page), USCS teamed up with M&M Refrigeration of Federalsburg, Maryland, to pioneer the development of an all-new C02 refrigeration system designed to maximize energy efficiency and minimize contamination risks.

"We have been working closely with the engineers at M&M to develop and refine next generation food and environment-friendly refrigeration. We appreciate the cost efficiencies and environmental benefits of operating this advanced refrigeration system and have more installations planned for future facilities," commented Charles A. Toogood, vice president of engineering for USCS.

Joseph Bove at Stellar said that company has itself designed and installed CO2 refrigeration systems for food manufacturing and ice cream plants rather than warehouses thus far, but that some of the company's warehouse clients are exploring the CO2 option.

One or two new warehouses a year is often the drill even for major PRW operators. But Campanelli Companies reported last year that it had built or was building 15 facilities in seven states for Preferred Freezer Services, Newark, New Jersey, with more than 1.5 million combined square feet of cold storage warehouse, distribution and office space.

Projects Campanelli has completed for Preferred Freezer include the company's headquarters in Newark, and cold storage distribution centers in Atlanta, Georgia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Norfolk, Virginia; and Raynham, Sharon, and Westfield, Massachusetts. Ongoing projects include facilities in Jacksonville, Florida (completion expected by press time), Elizabeth, New Jersey (ditto), and Everett, Massachusetts (expected completion: second quarter of 2008).

USCS has targeted strategic locations in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida and California. With completion of five projects last year and this year, its capacity exceeds 150 million cubic feet in nine states.

The company aims to double its cubic capacity in response to growth in the frozen food industry and customer demand for specially designed refrigerated facilities offering advanced warehouse technology and integrated transportation and logistics systems.