🧊 CubeCold expands Spanish footprint with Ferroice acquisition

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

In today’s edition:

• CubeCold expands Spanish footprint with Ferroice acquisition

• Peli BioThermal partners with Polar Group to expand cold chain reach in Brazil

• Kroger deploys autonomous drones for cold chain inventory management

• Trane Technologies acquires Thermo King Northern to expand UK refrigerated transport network

• GCCA announces speakers and programming for its 2026 convention

CubeCold

CubeCold expands Spanish footprint with Ferroice acquisition CubeCold, a leading pan-European cold storage and logistics provider, has acquired Ferroice, comprising Ferrocold 2025 S.L., Ferrolaboratorios Albacete S.L., and Ferroice S.L., strengthening its presence in the Albacete region of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.

• Ferroice brings more than 200,000 sqm of temperature controlled storage capacity across 35 chambers, with 210,000 storage positions serving agricultural and frozen food producers, processors, and distributors of fruits, vegetables, and ice cream.

• The company also operates an integrated fleet of ambient and temperature controlled trucks.

• CubeCold plans to maintain Ferroice's branding and service standards while investing in additional chilled and frozen capacity.

• The acquisition expands CubeCold's pan-European network, which now spans 28 locations across the Benelux, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy, with a portfolio exceeding 667,000 pallet spaces. (CubeCold)

News

Peli BioThermal partners with Polar Group to expand cold chain reach in Brazil Peli BioThermal, a global provider of temperature controlled packaging for the life sciences industry, has announced a strategic partnership with Polar Group to broaden access to its cold chain solutions across Brazil.

• Under the agreement, Polar Group will provide sales and leasing support for Peli BioThermal's reusable and single-use shipping systems, covering all major pharmaceutical temperature ranges - ambient, refrigerated, frozen, and deep-frozen.

• Polar Group, recognized as the market leader in Latin American cold chain solutions, brings established regional expertise and technical capability, enabling customers to meet international regulatory and quality standards.

• The collaboration strengthens Peli BioThermal's global network while positioning Polar Group as a reference for high-performance pharmaceutical logistics in Latin America. (PR Newswire)

Kroger deploys autonomous drones for cold chain inventory management Kroger has deployed Corvus One for Cold Chain autonomous drones across its ambient and sub-freezing cold chain distribution operations, supplied by Corvus Robotics.

• The drones autonomously scan pallet locations across freezer zones, delivering weekly facility-wide inventory visibility without relying on full physical counts.

• Capable of operating in environments down to -20 degrees Fahrenheit (-29 degrees Celcius), the drones require no infrastructure modifications, WiFi, localization markers, lighting changes, special barcodes, or human operators, integrating directly into existing warehouse systems.

• Key benefits include reduced need for associates to perform manual counts in sub-freezing conditions, improved shrink control, better first-in, first-out compliance, and enhanced data reliability for short shelf-life goods.

• The deployment reflects broader momentum in warehouse drone adoption, with companies such as Maersk, UPS, and sportswear brand On also leveraging autonomous drone systems for inventory tracking. (Supply Chain Dive)

Trane Technologies acquires Thermo King Northern to expand UK refrigerated transport network Trane Technologies has completed the acquisition of Thermo King Northern, a longstanding Thermo King and Frigoblock dealer serving the northern UK market.

• Headquartered in Carlisle, England, with additional service locations in Glasgow and County Durham, Thermo King Northern has represented the Thermo King brand for more than 40 years, providing transport refrigeration, HVAC, commercial refrigeration, cold storage, equipment installation, maintenance, repairs, and tail lift support across northern England and Scotland.

• The acquisition includes Thermo King Northern's full operations, customer base, and service engineering team, and the company will continue operating as part of Thermo King UK.

• The deal follows Thermo King's March 2025 acquisition of Marshall Fleet Solutions, together significantly expanding the scale and reach of Thermo King UK.

• Thermo King operates more than 500 service locations across 75 countries in the EMEA region and continues to pursue growth through both company-owned operations and its independent dealer network. (Cold Chain News)

GCCA announces speakers and programming for its 2026 convention The Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA) has unveiled keynote speakers and educational programming for its 2026 Convention, scheduled for April 25–27 at the Scottsdale Grand Hyatt Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona.

• Marking the first spring gathering since 2019, the event will bring together temperature controlled logistics leaders to address emerging industry opportunities and challenges.

• Keynote speakers include Greg Creed, former CEO of Taco Bell and Yum! Brands; Doug Ducey, former CEO of Cold Stone Creamery; Drew Matus, chief market strategist at MetLife Investment Management; and TV producer Lindsay Shookus.

• Educational sessions will cover cold chain facility upgrades, cybersecurity, energy efficiency, refrigerated transportation, multimodal logistics, and facility expansion.

• GCCA president and CEO Sara Stickler emphasized the cold chain's role as critical infrastructure, highlighting the event's 135-year tradition of advancing industry knowledge. (GCCA)

Other headlines

Panasonic showcased its expanded retail refrigeration portfolio at EuroShop 2026 in Düsseldorf, highlighting its CO₂ based iCO2RE and A2L ready iCOOL decentralised refrigeration ranges designed to help European retailers meet tightening F-Gas regulations and decarbonisation targets.

Lineage installed 7 MWp of rooftop solar at two Spanish facilities in Milagro and Las Torres de Cotillas, in partnership with GreenYellow and Grupo Enhol, with the systems expected to generate 9.1 GWh annually and reduce CO₂ emissions by approximately 1,500 tonnes per year.

That’s it for this week!

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