Source: Bdaily
StoreLogs’ £13 Million South Kirkby Facility Shows Continued Demand for Regional Frozen Warehousing
What Happened
StoreLogs, a West Yorkshire temperature-controlled logistics specialist, is expanding its storage capacity with a new £13 million cold storage facility at Langthwaite Business Park in South Kirkby. The company has appointed Russell WBHO to deliver the design-and-build project at its existing depot and head office site.
The new facility will cover 46,250 square feet and add capacity for more than 12,800 pallets. The building will be temperature controlled to -24°C and will include advanced refrigeration technology designed to exceed the UK’s best practice benchmark for energy performance. Russell WBHO will also deliver insulated cladding, mobile racking, mechanical and electrical services and an external service yard.
StoreLogs said the investment reflects growing demand for cold-chain warehousing and distribution services and will increase pallet capacity at South Kirkby by more than 50%. Work is now under way, with completion scheduled for May 2027.
How It Works
A -24°C cold storage facility is primarily designed for frozen product handling. This temperature level provides a margin below the common -18°C frozen food benchmark, helping operators maintain product condition during normal warehouse operations, door openings, loading activity and short-term thermal fluctuation.
The new facility will use mobile racking, which is especially important in cold storage. Frozen warehouses are expensive to build and operate because insulation, refrigeration, floor design, fire protection and energy consumption all add cost. Mobile racking can increase storage density by reducing fixed aisle space and allowing operators to access required pallet lanes when needed.
The project will also include insulated cladding and mechanical and electrical systems. These are not secondary construction details in a cold store. The building envelope, refrigeration plant, door systems, air circulation and electrical infrastructure determine whether the warehouse can maintain setpoint efficiently and reliably.
An external service yard is also important. Cold chain risk often increases during loading and unloading. A well-designed yard and dock interface can reduce congestion, improve trailer movement, reduce door-open time and support more controlled handoffs between warehouse and transport.
Why It Matters
The StoreLogs project shows that regional frozen storage demand remains active even as some wider warehousing markets face uneven demand.
Frozen warehousing is not interchangeable with ordinary storage space. Operators need specialist facilities, trained staff, temperature monitoring, refrigeration maintenance, food safety procedures and high energy discipline. When regional food manufacturers, retailers and supply chain operators need more frozen capacity, they cannot simply use ambient warehouse overflow.
The facility also highlights the relationship between cold chain growth and sustainability. StoreLogs and Russell WBHO emphasized efficiency and carbon reduction, while the facility is designed to exceed best practice energy performance benchmarks. That matters because cold stores are energy-intensive, and electricity cost is one of the most important operating variables in frozen logistics.
Energy-efficient refrigeration design can improve both environmental performance and business resilience. A more efficient facility may have lower operating cost, better capacity utilization and reduced exposure to power-price volatility. However, real sustainability performance will depend on actual operating data, maintenance quality, loading behavior, temperature setpoints and energy sourcing.
The location is also relevant. A South Kirkby expansion can support food manufacturers, retailers and distribution networks across the North of England. For frozen goods, regional capacity helps reduce long-distance repositioning, improve delivery reliability and shorten the time between storage, picking and dispatch.
B2B Impact
For food manufacturers, the project may provide additional frozen storage capacity in a region where distribution reliability and proximity to customers matter. Manufacturers that need outsourced storage should evaluate not only pallet availability, but also temperature stability, stock rotation, inventory accuracy, food safety systems and dispatch flexibility.
For retailers and foodservice distributors, expanded regional frozen capacity can improve resilience. When demand surges, seasonal stock builds or transport disruption occurs, having more qualified frozen warehouse options reduces dependency on a limited number of large facilities.
For cold storage operators, the StoreLogs investment reinforces the importance of high-density storage and energy performance. As land, construction and energy costs rise, operators need to extract more pallet capacity from the same footprint while maintaining safe access, airflow and service speed.
For refrigeration contractors and equipment suppliers, the project points to continued demand for efficient low-temperature systems. Relevant solutions include natural refrigerant systems, heat recovery, variable-speed controls, high-efficiency evaporators, advanced defrost strategies, insulated doors, energy monitoring and predictive maintenance platforms.
For transport providers, a larger frozen warehouse can increase demand for refrigerated trailer capacity, precise appointment scheduling, clean loading procedures, pre-cooled vehicles and route-level temperature documentation. The warehouse may protect product integrity inside the building, but transport performance determines whether that protection continues after dispatch.
For packaging suppliers, frozen warehouse expansion can support demand for pallet covers, carton liners, frozen food packaging, insulated container systems and secondary protection for mixed-temperature movement. Packaging design should align with warehouse handling, pallet configuration and expected dwell time during loading.
For B2B cold chain buyers, the key lesson is that capacity alone is not enough. A strong frozen warehouse must combine thermal performance, storage density, energy efficiency, fast handling, traceability and contingency planning. StoreLogs’ South Kirkby project reflects that direction: modern cold storage is being designed as a high-density, energy-aware logistics platform rather than a simple freezer building.