Logistics company expanding in Winchester

Third-party logistics warehousing provider WCS Logistics, a Winchester Cold Storage company, will invest $27 million to expand in Frederick County and create an estimated 15 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday.

WCS Logistics will build an 83,000-square-foot cold storage facility with the capacity for more than 13,000 pallets. The facility will include 68,750 square feet of freezer space, an 8,750-square-foot cold dock, 12 dock positions, insulated metal panel construction and a CO2 cascade refrigeration system, according to a news release from Arco National Construction, the design-build provider for the project.

The new jobs will include warehouse supervisors, forklift operators and customer service representatives, according to WCS Logistics Chief Operating Officer Peter Yates.

The company, which began doing business as WCS Logistics in 2014, has approximately 1 million square feet across four facilities, according to Yates. WCS Logistics opened its most recent cold storage facility, comprising 62,500 square feet, in Frederick County in 2019.

“A true Virginia success story, WCS Logistics has facilitated smooth and efficient movement of perishable goods on the East Coast for more than a century to keep the supply chain moving,” Youngkin said in a statement. “We are proud that the company is choosing to reinvest in the commonwealth and strengthen Virginia’s logistics industry, which is a high-growth sector and a core focus of our economic development strategy.”

Established in 1917 to provide cold storage for the Winchester-area apple industry, Winchester Cold Storage offers freezer, cooler, controlled atmosphere, tempering, climate control, dry storage, office space, lease and build-to-suit storage options. It currently has 30 employees.

“WCS Logistics is proud to announce this investment in our newest facility,” Yates said in a statement. “This is our second expansion in the cold storage market in the last five years, and we are excited to be able to better serve our existing customers and to offer our services to others we have not had the capacity to assist with their third-party logistics needs.”