Emergent Cold to Build 16,000-Pallet Cold Storage Facility in Santiago

Emergent Cold LatAm plans to build a major temperature-controlled food storage facility in Santiago de los Caballeros, adding 16,000 pallet positions to its Dominican Republic network as the company expands its logistics infrastructure in the country.

The project will be located at Parque Circunvalación Norte and developed in two phases. The company expects the facility to open in summer 2027, according to its October 26 announcement.

The development forms part of a broader investment plan valued at US$100 million in the Dominican Republic, aimed at expanding cold-chain capacity and improving food storage and distribution services.

Santiago becomes a strategic logistics location

Pedro Bretón, Emergent Cold LatAm’s general manager in the Dominican Republic, said Santiago was selected because of the Cibao region’s commercial growth and the strategic location of Parque Circunvalación Norte, which provides connections to other northern provinces.

The facility will accommodate products requiring different temperature conditions, including refrigerated goods such as dairy products and vegetables, as well as frozen and deep-frozen food. These services are particularly relevant to food producers, importers, distributors, supermarket chains, hotels and restaurants that depend on reliable temperature-controlled storage.

With the Santiago project, Emergent Cold expects its Dominican operations to reach a combined capacity of 43,000 pallet positions. Its existing network includes operations at the Multimodal Port of Caucedo and Parque Industrial Duarte in Santo Domingo.

More than 70 direct jobs planned

The company expects to create more than 70 direct jobs at the new facility. Recruitment is scheduled to begin in early January, with positions anticipated in operations, warehouse management, forklift handling and administration.

The hiring plan will add employment opportunities in Santiago as the company expands its presence beyond the capital and the country’s main port logistics hub.

Juan Pablo Benítez, managing director for Mexico and the Caribbean, said the project would bring the company closer to customers in the northern region and strengthen its ability to provide integrated storage and distribution services.

Backup power and energy-efficiency measures

The planned warehouse will include emergency power generation systems and solar panels to support operations during electricity interruptions.

According to information provided by the company, its thermal-efficiency design, certified under the EDGE Advance standard, is intended to maintain internal product temperatures for up to nine consecutive days without electricity. This feature is particularly relevant for businesses handling perishable food, where temperature stability is essential to preserving product quality and reducing losses.

The combination of backup generation, solar power and thermal insulation is intended to improve operational resilience while supporting more efficient energy use.

Expansion plans extend to Punta Cana

Santiago is part of a wider expansion strategy that also includes a planned facility in Punta Cana, with operations targeted for 2028. The eastern Dominican destination represents another important market for food distribution because of its concentration of hotels, restaurants, retailers and tourism-related businesses.

Across Latin America, Emergent Cold LatAm says its network includes 110 food storage facilities in 11 countries and more than 6,000 employees. The company also reports nine construction or expansion projects underway across the region.

For the Dominican Republic, the additional capacity in Santiago and the planned Punta Cana development would extend temperature-controlled logistics services across key commercial and consumption centers. The projects are expected to strengthen infrastructure used by food businesses, although the full impact will depend on the facilities becoming operational as scheduled and on demand from customers.

More details about the company’s regional operations and services are available through Emergent Cold LatAm’s official website.