by Meghan Rodgers, VP of Public Relations & Industry Affairs, Global Cold Chain Alliance
In no time in history has the supply chain, or cold chain, been hotter. The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust our industry into the spotlight, with an unprecedented desire from consumers to know where their food supply comes from and who provides it.
The greater supply chain has worked together in extraordinary ways to deliver consumer goods as quickly and safely as possible. A critical piece of this supply chain puzzle are the temperature-controlled environment buildings that serve as crucial links in the chain.
A foundational part of the food supply chain around the world are modern, innovative, sustainable and technologically advanced facilities that house food. That’s where we come in.
The Controlled Environment Building Association is where anyone looking to build, renovate or modernize a first-rate, innovative temperature-controlled facility comes to find the most experienced designers, contractors, manufacturers and suppliers in the industry.
CEBA’s mission is to represent the expert builders who specialize in the design and construction of controlled environment buildings. These include cold storage warehouses, food processing facilities, clean rooms, pharmaceutical facilities and foodservice and retail distribution centers.
The entire food industry relies on our facility infrastructure to protect products, people, partners and overall integrity of the supply chain.
As we learned throughout the pandemic, it is hard to predict what challenges may be coming around the corner. Many companies are looking to make investments in controlled environment buildings, whether it is new construction, development or improvements.
CEBA members are the experts in temperature-controlled environment buildings – hot, cold or somewhere in between – and is the best place to go looking if you’re hoping to build or improve an existing facility.
A big part of CEBA’s known success comes from the innovative construction practices in building facilities that house the world’s supply of perishable goods.
The Global Cold Chain Alliance recognizes and highlights the work of these intricately built facilities each year by awarding one company with the Built by the Best Award.
Founded in 2016 to acknowledge construction project teams moving the vital cold chain industry forward, the Built by the Best Award helps ensure that customers know how safe and secure their food is throughout the supply chain.
The nominated projects represent some of the most innovative and complex facilities built around the globe according to the complex, high standards set forth by the controlled environment industry.
In early November, at the Annual CEBA Conference and Expo held in person in Las Vegas, Fisher Construction Group was announced as the recipient of the 2021 Award for their McDonough-Medline fully automated warehouse project with United States Cold Storage and customer Dole Foods.
This award recognizes best in class development of temperature-controlled facilities and helps give confidence to this crucial element of the supply chain.
In the United States and Canada, more than 260 billion pounds of perishable food moves through GCCA member facilities a year. As true experts in building the entire cold chain – from processing facilities to third-party warehouses – CEBA members play an important role in maintaining the continuity of this food supply.
The proper construction of temperature-controlled buildings gives consumers a confidence in their food supply that is necessary for the global food chain. Without these facilities, the disruptions we saw in the early days of the pandemic could have been far worse.
As many food companies choose to invest their capital and improve their facilities, CEBA members provide the vital link in the cold chain by building facilities that keep food safely stored, packaged and shipped to dinner tables around the world.
