Constellation’s Vision for 2026 – Carlos Rodriguez, CEO

Growth is often seen as a trade-off in our cold logistics sector. As networks expand, complexity can rise, systems can come under strain and customer service can lose the clarity and individual responsiveness that makes a customer depend upon. That is often the case – but it doesn’t have to be, and in a changing landscape, can’t afford to be. 

At Constellation, we are already providing to our customers that with the right discipline and integration, growth is not a risk to service. In contrast, it is one of the most powerful ways to improve it, and an absolute necessity in the years ahead.

Climate-related disruption, shifting production cycles and geopolitical pressures are reshaping supply chains across Europe. In this context, scale is not just an advantage – it is essential. By building a larger, better-connected network, we can innovate faster, provide more stability and give customers the resilience they need.

But scale only strengthens service when it is built around specific customer needs. Our long-term relationships show that mindful growth deepens understanding, improves flexibility and reinforces the day-to-day responsiveness customers rely on. This is a model we’ve proven time and again, whether we’re building bespoke capacity for seafood partners or developing efficiency-led consolidation models for foodservice operators.

As we look to 2026, our goal is clear: we are going to turn the scale we have built over 2025 into an even more integrated, reliable and high-performing network for customers. Three priorities will guide that work: integration, disciplined execution, and alignment. 

Integration: building a network that works as one

Network integration is the foundation of reliable service. It means ensuring that all our sites use the same principles, focus on efficient processes, and work to the same operating system so that the entire network functions as one coordinated whole. When a network is truly integrated, progress in one region can strengthen service for customers across Europe.

Our entry into the German market is a clear example of why this matters. Bringing a new country into the business only improves service if it connects smoothly to the rest of our operations. That is why our priority is operational integration – introducing shared systems, aligning performance standards and strengthening day-to-day coordination across borders. This ensures customers in Germany receive the same clarity, reliability and responsiveness as customers elsewhere – and that the expertise and capabilities we add there can support the wider network.

This principle applies across all regions. Integration is what allows us to take advances in one part of the business and apply them quickly and consistently across our temperature controlled logistics network. It turns local improvements into network-wide benefits.

A fully integrated network behaves as one: faster in its responses, clearer in its communication and more predictable for customers. Integration is what turns scale into something genuinely valuable – not more complicated, but more reliable and more responsive.

Execution: advancing the projects that will shape our future service

Alongside integration, 2026 will be a year of disciplined delivery as several major projects move through critical stages that will directly strengthen the service we provide for existing customers.

In the UK, our expansion at Wolverhampton plays an important role in strengthening future service. The development reflects a broader investment in modern, high-performance facilities, combining increased capacity with advanced automation designed to improve accuracy, throughput and energy efficiency. As part of this wider commitment, 4-way shuttle technology will be introduced to the UK for the first time, supporting faster, more consistent and more efficient operations. Together, these investments will help set a new benchmark for how technology-enabled facilities can strengthen service across our European network.

In Denmark, construction at Aarhus continues to progress. The project – designed to add 52,000 europallet positions and scheduled to go live in early 2027 – was approved in direct response to rising customer demand in the region. Developed in close dialogue with customers and located near one of Denmark’s most important logistics hubs, the facility will provide long-term capacity, more efficient transfer from port to store and a stronger foundation for national and regional distribution.

Each project has the same purpose: to improve reliability, efficiency and sustainability across our cold storage facilities.

Alignment: ensuring our people, decisions and priorities support the same customer-led goals

If integration is about how the network operates on a macro scale, alignment is about how our people think and act day to day. It ensures that as Constellation grows, every country, cluster and team is working toward the same goal: delivering reliable, clear and responsive service for customers.

Alignment keeps customer needs at the centre of daily decisions. It guides how we plan capacity, manage peak periods and coordinate across borders. It also helps teams prioritise the same things: accuracy, communication, transparency and proactive support.

To make this possible, we are strengthening coordination between countries in the Constellation network, embedding shared service standards and improving how information moves across the organisation. This approach mirrors what has made our long-term partnerships successful. Our teams understand customer products, anticipate seasonal pressures and address issues before they escalate.

Alignment becomes even more important as we integrate Germany. It helps new teams adopt the same customer-first mindset as the rest of the network and ensures the expertise we gain in Germany supports customers across Europe. The same thinking will shape our evaluation of Poland, which is emerging as a natural next step for our Central and Northern European growth. Any expansion will only move forward if it clearly improves the service customers receive.

Alignment ensures customers feel the benefit of scale. It makes a larger network easier to work with and more coordinated, not more complicated.

2026: strengthening service through purposeful growth

Our ambition for 2026 is to demonstrate that disciplined, customer-led growth strengthens service rather than complicates it. It delivers greater reliability, consistency and resilience across the network.

The progress ahead – from Wolverhampton and Aarhus to Germany and our evaluation of Poland – forms the next chapter in creating an integrated, high-performance European network ready for a more challenging operating environment.

This is growth with intent. A network that is larger, yes, but above all one that is more capable, more connected and better prepared to support customers in every scenario.

Contact us to learn more about our priorities and plans for 2026.