MRS breaks ground on new distribution center

Midwest Refrigerated Services (MRS) recently broke ground on a new regional distribution center in Belvidere, Illinois. The new facility is the company’s second in Belvidere following the opening of a warehouse there in September 2023.

MRS is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“As a logistics provider, site selection is of utmost importance to provide our customers with the most cost-effective solution to their supply chain needs,” Mike Pokel, MRS president, said in a news release. “Belvidere, and this site in particular, checks all the boxes. We are appreciative of the efforts of Mayor [Clinton] Morris and his staff to make this day a reality.

“From our initial meeting on, we were welcomed and the challenges of meeting a tight timeline were achieved by their can-do attitude and approach.”

Scheduled to open in March 2025, the fully racked 200,000-sq.-ft. facility will provide over 40,000 pallet positions of refrigerated storage and employ “state-of-the-art” layer picking technology. The 83-acre site is capable of expanding the warehouse footprint to over 1 million sq. ft., MRS said. The site is rail served by the Union Pacific Railroad.

Upon completion, the operation also is expected to add 85 new jobs to Belvidere.

Consolidated Construction based out of Appleton, Wisconsin, was contracted to construct the facility. 

“We have worked with Consolidated for over 30 years and we certainly appreciate and value the partnership,” Pokel said. “They are integral to this project’s success and have worked diligently to help get us to this milestone.”