Magnavale, a UK-based provider of temperature-controlled storage, has announced that its £130m fully automated facility located in Easton, Grantham remains on schedule for completion in late 2024. The project, which commenced in 2022, will include 101,000 frozen pallet positions contained in a 45-metre high facility along with several floors in the low-bay area dedicated to value-added solutions, such as contract packing.

To date, racking installation in the high-bay area is now over 75% complete. All 13 automated cranes have been installed and await final completion of the remaining racking structure. Plant rooms are built out and equipment installation is underway. Building services and oxygen reduction systems are also being installed behind these main works.

In the project’s low-bay area, 20 loading docks near completion alongside conveyors, racking, and monorail systems that will enable automation. Across five floors, fit-out continues, adding a new office building featuring curtain walling and a completed roof.

Amanda Cogan, Chief Operating Officer, comments:

“We are pleased with the progress so far on what will be the most advanced and efficient temperature-controlled store in Europe. The Easton facility is particularly important to us, not because of the size or advancement, but because of the role the site will have on Lincolnshire’s food production and partners in the surrounding area.”

Magnavale’s new development in Easton, Grantham, is set to become the most efficient cold store in Europe, accommodating a capacity of 101,000 pallets, alongside an existing 44,000 already onsite. The fully automated cold store will operate solely on renewable energy, making it an environmentally sustainable solution for the modern cold storage industry.