DiMare Fresh Houston transitions to new state-of-the-art facility
DiMare Fresh Houston transitions to new state-of-the-art facility
The DiMare Fresh Houston facility has completed its move into a new 110,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art distribution and packing center located in Houston.
The facility, designed from the ground up for produce, includes the latest in food safe designs, energy-efficient refrigeration and lighting systems, and a continuous cold chain from receiving to storage, ripening, packing and shipping.
The facility, built to U.S. Department of Agriculture specifications, includes a continuous pit dock design that ensures efficient, sanitary, loading and unloading operations, while providing optimum temperature maintenance and a barrier to potential pests. All produce storage racking includes a hot-dipped galvanized sanitary finish.
With its strong focus on food safety and sustainable efficient practices, the Houston facility features 25 separate temperature zones for optimal product storage, high-speed doors, and energy-efficient lighting fixtures with advanced motion-sensor lighting controls, which provide lighting only when needed to reduce energy usage.
The advanced building insulating system features additional insulation to reduce the cooling equipment and reduce energy consumption.
The building control system provides computer monitoring and controls the entire refrigeration system. Continuously monitoring and recording all critical conditions, the new system reduces refrigeration and electric consumption. The state-of-the-art pressurized ripening rooms are equipped with the new reversing air flow technology to optimize cooling and ripening and conserve energy at the same time.
The newly completed Houston facility provides operational efficiencies in product handling, people movement, significantly improved traffic flow and allows for future expansion. The strategically planned design ultimately enhances the overall cold chain management of fresh produce and positions DiMare Fresh Houston for substantial growth and continued success.
