Automated Cold Storage
Automated Cold Storage Distribution Centre — Riyadh
Turnkey automated frozen distribution centre for a leading KSA food group — 18,000 pallets, dual-temperature, ammonia refrigeration, ASRS and WMS.
Location
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Capacity
18,000 pallet positions
Temperature
−25 °C / −18 °C dual zones
Budget
USD $32M–$38M CAPEX
Timeline
22 months, design to commissioning
Project overview
A national KSA food distributor engaged ColdMatch Group to source and coordinate a greenfield automated cold storage DC serving the central region. Scope covered civil coordination, insulated envelope, ASRS, ammonia refrigeration, MHE, WMS and commissioning — all through a vendor-neutral, multi-supplier tender.
Challenge
- Legacy manual warehouses were running above 90% occupancy with 6% shrinkage from temperature excursions.
- Local ambient design temperature of 46 °C required over-engineered refrigeration and envelope performance.
- Client needed a single technical spec that 3 international EPCs and 4 refrigeration OEMs could bid on a like-for-like basis.
Solution
- Issued a unified RFQ with normalised technical spec, load calculations and evaluation matrix through the ColdMatch platform.
- Selected a two-stage ammonia (NH3) refrigeration system with variable-speed compressors and evaporative condensers optimised for Riyadh climate.
- Deployed ASRS with 12-deep pallet shuttles and integrated WMS/WCS, with N+1 redundancy on refrigeration and power.
Result
- Delivered 22 months from kick-off — 4 months faster than the client's original single-EPC timeline.
- Energy consumption 31% below the KSA cold-storage benchmark (kWh / pallet / year).
- Zero temperature excursions in the first 12 months of operation.
Scope of works
- Insulated panel envelope with vapour-tight detailing
- Two-stage NH3 refrigeration, N+1 compressors
- ASRS with pallet shuttles and cranes
- WMS, WCS and refrigeration SCADA
- Standby power, fire suppression and safety systems
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Related capability
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