Officials at Hanson Logistics announced a two-year two-phase investment initiative in the company’s cold storage and logistics campus in Hartford, Mich. The overall initiative is designed to support the West Michigan agriculture business with a focus on providing Michigan blueberry growers with additional resources to meet growing demand.
The company says the initial $2 million improvement, expected to be completed by July, is the first phase of a master plan developed after extensive dialogue with members of the grower community. The first phase will increase the freezing and long-term storage capacity of the existing Hartford facility; the second phase, scheduled for 2010 at a cost yet to be determined, will include expanded deep-frozen storage space, with additional docks and infrastructure to support higher volume inbound and outbound.
The Hartford campus has a current capacity of nearly 7 million cubic feet, most of which is dedicated to the storage of blueberry harvest and supporting materials. Surrounded by more than 460 acres of irrigated farmland, the facility has a 7-spot private rail siding served by CSX Railroad.
“The blueberry industry, especially Michigan growers, has always been a very important aspect of our business,” says Andrew Janson, president of St. Joseph, Mich.-based Hanson Logistics. “Our investment in the Hartford campus is the result of our ongoing discussions with our customers on how we can best serve their future needs. We are committed to Michigan growers and intend to support this industry with best-of-class freezing, storage and distribution services.”
