Food storage company to invest $77.5M in Suffolk facility

New Jersey-based cold and dry storage services provider FreezPak Logistics will invest $77.5 million to build a Suffolk facility, a project expected to create 80 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday.

FreezPak will build a 245,000-square-foot cold storage facility in Suffolk to serve the mid-Atlantic region. The 80 new jobs will be in warehouse operations and sales, as well as general manager positions, according to Anthony Soto, a spokesperson for FreezPak Logistics.

“FreezPak’s decision to locate in the city of Suffolk demonstrates that Virginia is a supply chain destination, and its new facility will allow it to serve the entire mid-Atlantic region,” Youngkin said in a statement. “All of FreezPak’s products will go through the Port of Virginia, a logistical advantage that will increase efficiency and increase its direct access to markets.”

Established in 2001 by two brothers, FreezPak Logistics offers frozen, cooler and dry storage as well as third-party logistics services. The company currently has nine facilities operating — across New Jersey and Philadelphia and outside of Chicago and Miami, Florida — and three under construction, counting the Suffolk facility and one each in Jacksonville, Florida, and the Houston metro area.  

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the City of Suffolk and the Hampton Roads Alliance to secure the project, for which Virginia competed with Georgia and North Carolina. Youngkin approved a $175,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Suffolk.

FreezPak Logistics is eligible to receive state benefits from the Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit for full-time jobs created, as well as benefits from the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Grant Program. VEDP will support the insurer through its three-year Virginia Jobs Investment Program (VJIP), which provides cash grant reimbursements for associated human resources costs after a company has had new employees on the payroll for at least 90 days.

“We sincerely appreciate Gov. Youngkin and his office’s support in securing incentives, a crucial factor in launching our project successfully,” Dave Saoud, co-founder and CEO of FreezPak Logistics, said in a statement. “We continue to expand our national footprint as a 100% family-owned business.”