Lineage Logistics Expanded European Portfolio Last Year

Temperature-controlled storage REIT Lineage Logistics significantly expanded its European footprint last year. The logistics company closed 12 transactions in five European countries totaling 2.5 million square feet with 90 cubic feet of cold-storage capacity.

The highlight of Lineage Logistics’ European transactions is the acquisition of Coldstar. The purchase adds 7 million cubic feet of cold storage capacity and adds 7 million cubic feet of cold storage capacity to the Lineage network, and it gives Lineage a strong foothold in the Golden Triangle region of Denmark, an area that has strategic access to Jutland, Zealand and Germany. From this location, the facility 65% of the Danish retail market, and Lineage will leverage this location to significantly expand its offerings to retailers in Denmark.

Lineage made four other purchases in Denmark as well. The transactions include Lundsøe Køl og Frys, which has five locations in Denmark and plans to expand at the Port of Aarhus in 2021; Super Frost Sjaelland A/S, a single facility outside of Copenhagen; and Kolding and Kanalholmen, which each consist of a triple-net leased facility.

Outside of Denmark, Lineage also made purchases in The Netherlands, Poland, Belgium and Norway. In The Netherlands, the company acquired Vriescentrale Asten, a highly automated operation focused on meat processing for international export and Frigo Group’s Heerenberg B.V. location in Heerenberg. In Belgium, it acquired Flexible Automation Innovative Solutions or FAIS, a state-of-the-art automation commissioning business that will assist Lineage in its substantial new build growth pipeline. In Norway, the firm’s purchases include Larvik, a net leased facility in proximity to Larvik Harbour, Norway’s second largest container port; Oslo, a net leased facility; and Moss Cold Storage, an operation in Moss, Norway that services the broader Norwegian market. Finally in Poland, Lineage purchased Pago Sp. z o.o., which includes six locations across Poland.

Mike McClendon, Lineage’s president of international operations and EVP of network optimization, said that these transactions will help the company respond to changing market dynamics and create new supply chain solutions. “The strategic locations of these facilities, combined with those which offer and facilitate highly-automated operations or expansion opportunities, allow us to offer supply chain solutions that extend throughout the entire value chain,” he said in a statement.

Lineage Logistics is making similar strategic growth maneuvers in the US. Earlier this year, the company acquired Cryo-Trans, the largest refrigerated and insulated railcar fleet in North America. The deal was a first for the industrial industry, giving Lineage a unique competitive foothold in the cold-storage market by providing insulated railcar service.