Port of New Orleans

The joint venture partnership of McDonnel/Primus (MPJV) provided design-build services on this new, 142,000 SF refrigerated terminal. It is the largest poultry export operation in the U.S. and one of the largest blast freeze operations in the northern hemisphere.

To meet this demand, McDonnel/Primus added these state-of-the-art features:

• Quick freeze rooms (vs. traditional blast cells) that freeze product on a larger scale with considerable energy reduction, improved material handling efficiency, and reduced product damage. The individual rooms are accessed from the dock, allowing them to be regularly sanitized, increasing the food safety of the facility versus traditional systems.
• Refrigeration components are operated with a centralized computer control system allowing for multi-temperature storage that uses a combination of variable frequency drives and premium efficiency motors for an energy efficient system.
• A flexible structural layout which permits the current concept of floor stacking product to be easily adapted to a conventional racking system should the business model change
• The entire warehouse facility utilizes LED lighting technology with a centralized control system that reduces energy consumption by over 90% compared to traditional warehouse lighting systems.

By working closely with all project stakeholders, MPJV designed and built a facility that has contributed 120 new jobs to the City of New Orleans.