🧊 New refrigeration milestone at JR Hardings

Welcome back to CubeCold News where we cover the latest developments in the cold chain industry and temperature-controlled logistics.

In today’s edition:

• GFH Partners invests in Cold-Link Logistics alongside Slate Asset Management and Hamilton Lane

• Swissport launches first UK perishables centre at London Heathrow

• UPS is expanding healthcare cold storage capabilities in Louisville

• OPEX and Peltier partner on cold storage solution for automated fulfilment

• Gulfood 2026 launches Gulfood Logistics platform in Dubai

CubeCold

Strong progress on the installation of a new refrigeration system as part of the renovation works at JR Hardings in Frome.

It’s great to see experienced teams working together, with a strong focus on safety, quality, and progress.

Well done to everyone involved! We’re looking forward to the next stages and to seeing this installation fully completed.

News

GFH Partners invests in Cold-Link Logistics alongside Slate Asset Management and Hamilton Lane GFH Partners, the Dubai International Financial Centre-headquartered investment manager and global real estate arm of GFH Financial Group, has completed a co-investment in Cold-Link Logistics alongside Slate Asset Management, Hamilton Lane, and a consortium of institutional co-investors.

• Cold-Link Logistics ranks among the ten largest privately held temperature-controlled logistics platforms in North America.

• The platform owns and operates nine geographically diversified facilities across key U.S. food and logistics corridors, with combined storage capacity exceeding 78 million cubic feet.

• Cold-Link provides freezer, cooler, and ambient storage solutions along with value-added services including case picking, blast freezing, labelling, and freight solutions, serving more than 250 customers across over ten food categories.

• GFH Partners views cold storage as a high-growth, defensive subsector benefiting from structural tailwinds including population growth, increased fresh and frozen food consumption, e-grocery expansion, and evolving food safety requirements. (GFH)

Swissport launches first UK perishables centre at London Heathrow Swissport has opened its first dedicated perishables centre in the United Kingdom at London Heathrow Airport, partnering with Scan Global Logistics as the inaugural on-site customer.

• The purpose-built facility, acquired in November 2024, spans approximately 2,694 sqm and offers temperature-controlled handling with capacity for up to 30,000 tonnes of perishables annually.

• Operating around the clock, the centre includes a dedicated Border Inspection Post enabling immediate airside inspection and clearance to reduce dwell times and protect product integrity.

• Swissport plans to install automated EMIS screening technology in the first quarter of 2026, allowing dense palletised seafood shipments to be processed without breakdown.

• The three-year alliance between Swissport and Scan Global Logistics aims to provide exporters from Norway, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Scotland with reliable capacity and consistent cold-chain performance at this critical seafood gateway. (Air Cargo Week)

UPS expanding healthcare cold storage capabilities in Louisville UPS is constructing a new 42,000 sq ft cold storage cooler at its facility located in Louisville.

• The $6.1 million cooler will be built adjacent to an existing 40,000 sq ft storage cooler within the warehouse.

• The new facility will serve Amgen, a biotechnology company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California, that produces temperature-sensitive medicines and biologics requiring controlled transportation conditions.

• This expansion adds to UPS's substantial healthcare infrastructure in Louisville, which includes the $100 million UPS Labport facility that opened in early 2025 near the UPS Centennial Hub.

• That first-of-its-kind facility combines a largely automated shipping warehouse with on-site medical laboratories for three companies, including HealthTrackRx, a molecular testing laboratory specializing in infectious disease diagnostics. (Yahoo Finance)

OPEX and Peltier partner on cold storage solution for automated fulfilment OPEX Corporation has announced a strategic technology partnership with Peltier to offer multi-temperature zone, multi-deep cold storage capabilities for automated fulfilment systems.

• The collaboration integrates Peltier's actively cooled, AI-enabled totes into OPEX's Perfect Pick and Infinity automated storage and retrieval system solutions, eliminating the need for costly freezer chambers or specialized infrastructure.

• The Peltier Tote features individually controlled temperature setpoints and IoT connectivity for real-time monitoring through integrated API messages.

• Power is supplied to each tote during multi-deep storage, while OPEX iBOT robotic vehicles maintain temperatures during transport, ensuring continuous cold chain integrity.

• This approach allows refrigerated and frozen inventory to be integrated directly into ambient warehouse environments.

• Unlike conventional cold storage rooms where refrigeration failure can cause total product loss, the tote-based system isolates potential issues to individual units, minimizing risk and waste. (Modern Materials Handling)

Gulfood 2026 launches Gulfood Logistics platform in Dubai Gulfood 2026 has announced the launch of Gulfood Logistics at the Dubai Exhibition Centre at Expo City Dubai.

• The platform will showcase technologies, infrastructure, and partnerships enabling perishables to move across continents while maintaining freshness and quality.

• Dubai serves as a strategic hub at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa, with the UAE accounting for approximately 30 percent of GCC logistics activity and contributing around 8 percent of national GDP.

• Logistics leaders, cold-chain specialists, and global freight operators will gather alongside food industry participants to explore temperature-controlled transport, smart warehousing, real-time cargo tracking, and cross-border freight optimization.

• Exhibitors include Akkon Lines, Africa Global Logistics, DP World, Dubai South, Kezad Group, Maersk, Mohebi Logistics, MSC Shipping, Silo Group, and Ship Smart. (Logistics Gulf)

Other headlines

Americold Realty Trust will release its fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results on February 19, 2026, followed by a conference call at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

HAVI Group has deployed its first two Carrier Transicold Vector eCool fully electric trailer refrigeration systems following a successful pilot in Portugal, eliminating the need for diesel engines through energy regeneration and onboard storage technology.

Genoa-based shipping company Ignazio Messina & C has acquired 100% of Thermocar, a temperature-controlled container logistics specialist with refrigerated assets and a terminal at the port of Genoa serving routes to Africa, the Middle East and India.

Juan Francisco Aranda S.L., a refrigerated transport company headquartered in Guadix, Granada, has added 20 Scania 460 S Súper trucks to its fleet of over 300 temperature-controlled vehicles serving European routes.

That’s it for this week!

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