MEDLOG Savannah Automated Cold Storage Project

Customer name:

Fabio Santucci (President and CEO)
Company name:

MSC USA
Project location:

Savannah Port Industrial Zone, Georgia, USA (adjacent to the third largest container terminal in the United States)
Cold storage type:

Multi-temperature Zone Freezer (mainly -25℃) + Refrigerated Zone (0~4℃)
Project period:

January 2, 2020 - April 28, 2020 (4 months)

Project Background and Core Challenges

Business pain points

Export bottleneck:

Poultry and pork producers in the southeastern United States rely on decentralized freezing plants. Raw materials must undergo multiple levels of transit before export, resulting in a logistics cycle of up to 7 days and a 15% loss in freshness.
Storage gap:

The Port of Savannah lacks sufficient storage space for frozen containers. During the 2024 peak season for meat exports, over 3 million pounds of goods were backlogged.
Carbon neutrality pressure:

Georgia requires that cold chain facilities achieve a renewable energy usage rate of at least 20% by 2030.

Technical goals

Complete the construction of 27,034 square meters of cold storage within 4 months, supporting a daily cargo handling capacity of 3 million pounds;
Achieve a constant temperature of -25℃±0.5℃ in the freezing area to meet the import inspection standards of the South American/Asian markets;
Integrate solar energy systems to reduce operational carbon footprint.

Technical solution innovations

Rapid deployment of modular warehouse

Prefabricated insulation warehouse panel system:

Adopt B1 fireproof polyurethane warehouse panel (thickness: 150mm, density: 40kg/m³), pre-embedded moisture-proof resin film in the factory, with the on-site splicing error ≤2mm;

Innovative "lock + glue injection" double sealing process: Polyurethane foam glue is injected after mechanical locking of the interlocking hooks. The resulting air tightness reaches a level where cold leakage from door gaps is <2W/m² (30% better than industry standard).
Steel structure parallel construction:

The main frame adopts high-strength weathering steel (Q345B), and the column installation and warehouse panel assembly are carried out simultaneously, shortening the construction period by 40%;

Ground anti-freeze heaving design: Lay PE moisture-proof film + embedded ethylene glycol heating pipe (no risk of frost heaving under -30℃ environment).

Intelligent logistics and refrigeration system

High-density automated storage:

Deploy a four-way shuttle system (from Germany's DEMATIC), which supports operation in a -30°C environment, with the 22-meter-high shelves integrating 43,421 pallet positions (80% automation rate);

Dynamic path algorithm: Preview the pickup path through the digital twin platform, and the traffic efficiency in narrow aisles reaches 120 pallets/hour.
Ammonia/CO₂ cascade refrigeration + photovoltaic power supply:

Main unit: Bitzer ECOLINE variable frequency screw machine (COP value: 1.8@-40°C), with hot air defrosting cycle ≤25 minutes;

Energy closed loop: The rooftop 1.5MW solar array covers 10% of energy consumption, with the waste heat recovery for warehouse door antifreeze.

4-month fast delivery of key nodes

Phase 1: Foundation and main construction

Geological reinforcement: The rotary piles penetrated 12m into the sandstone layer (bearing capacity: 15kN/m²), and 11,000㎡ of floor pouring was completed in 30 days;
Steel structure hoisting: BIM model pre-positioning was adopted, the maximum installation volume per day reached 85 tons, and the vertical deviation of the column was ≤1.5mm/m.

Phase 2: Warehouse and equipment integration

Insulation warehouse panel assembly: 120 workers worked in three shifts, and 1,800㎡ of wall coverage was completed in a single day;
Refrigeration pipe welding: Nitrogen-filled copper pipes were welded, and 4.0MPa pressure was maintained for 48 hours without leakage (pressure rise ≤0.2kPa).

Phase 3: System integration and acceptance

Automation test: The shuttle positioning accuracy is ±3mm, with no faults for 72 consecutive hours in an environment of -25℃;
Temperature field uniformity verification: Maximum temperature difference of 9 temperature measurement points is 1.3℃ (standard ≤2℃), with the energy consumption of 1.1kWh/torr·day.

Project results and quantitative value