Jones Lang LaSalle represents cold storage firm in historic China expansion

SHANGHAI, July 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Jones Lang LaSalle is pleased to announce that New Jersey-based Preferred Freezer Services (PFS) will break ground in a ceremony today to mark its historic expansion into China. The cold storage specialist will start construction on a new state-of-the-art facility at Lingang Logistics Park in Shanghai, China. After construction, the approximately 280,000-square-foot refrigerated warehouse will be the largest and most advanced single-story cold storage facility in China, according to the Shanghai Institute of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering Co., Ltd.

"Once completed, the facility will be the largest in PFS' global network," says John Galiher, CEO of Preferred Freezer Services. "This project will be the first of many leading-edge facilities that we have planned for China. Our expertise in cold storage warehouse operations coupled with unsurpassed customer services will no doubt provide an improved option for local as well as multinational food companies in the country."

"This represents one of the largest build-to-suit transactions in the Shanghai region and marks a notable trading partnership between the U.S. and China," says John Carver, Executive Vice President of Jones Lang LaSalle. "The facility is strategically located just minutes away from the 17-mile East Sea Bridge connecting the Lingang New Area in Shanghai to the recently opened Yangshan Deep Water Port."

China has the world's fastest-growing consumer market for perishable food and pharmaceutical products, but its per capita refrigerated warehouse space is less than one-tenth of most developed countries. The demand for cold chain facilities with improved quality is enormous in China and with the growth of foreign capital in recent years; this presents investors with massive opportunities. Preferred Freezer Services has worked with Dalian-based Yida Group to jointly invest in the development of the cold storage market in China.

Jones Lang LaSalle's China Industrial team played an important role in this transaction. "To assist PFS in the set up of its first refrigerated warehouse with modern design and innovative high technology in China, our industrial experts fully leveraged their local knowledge, resources and experience to support our port, airport and global infrastructure experts based in our Los Angeles office.