What’s Next for Cold Storage and Logistics in the Nordics? – Jan Nielsen, Nordics Managing Director

• What’s next in Denmark?
• What’s next in Sweden?
• What’s next in Norway?

At Constellation Cold Logistics, we are consistently enhancing the services we provide to our customers. In part, we do this by expanding our presence, but our focus always remains on quality of service. 2024 was a transformative year for us, marked by strategic developments in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway aimed at delivering more value, increasing capacity and improving efficiency for our customers. 

Now, as we settle into 2025 and beyond, our goal remains to continue this growth while staying true to our core values: providing excellent service, integrating advanced technologies, and maintaining a focus on sustainability. This dedication will ensure that Constellation remains Europe’s leading cold logistics provider for years to come.

As the Managing Director for the Nordics, I bring decades of experience in the food and logistics sectors, having worked with key players like Danish Crown, Abba Seafood, Royal Greenland, and Agri-Norcold – now Constellation Denmark. This experience enables me to understand and anticipate the needs of our customers, ensuring Constellation continues to deliver best-in-class service. 

At Constellation, our vision is to deliver Cold Logistics excellence with local market expertise across Europe. This means listening to the needs of our customers in each market we operate and consistently improving our service based on their requirements. Here’s how we are strengthening our operations in the Nordics and what’s coming for our customers in the next few years.

Denmark: Meeting Growing Demand in Aarhus

Denmark has been a key area of growth for Constellation, with the 2024 acquisition of Agri-Norcold marking a significant milestone in our expansion. This acquisition added 270,000 pallet positions across 10 new sites, increasing our storage capacity and enhancing our freezing capabilities, making Denmark an essential hub in our network. As a result, we’ve been able to further strengthen our infrastructure and position ourselves as a leading logistics partner in the region.

Building on this growth, our next major step is the expansion in Aarhus, where the city’s port has become an increasingly vital logistics hub, especially for vessels from Greenland. With nearly 70% of all Danish exports passing through Aarhus, and with rising regulatory transportation costs, our customers are seeking the most efficient storage solutions.

To meet this growing demand, we are constructing a new cold store in Aarhus, adding to our existing facilities in Tilst and Hasselager, which are operating at full capacity. This expansion is essential for supporting the growing needs of our customers, particularly those shipping from Greenland, such as Royal Greenland. 

Additionally, we’re aiming to double our plate freezing capacity, which offers a more cost-effective, sustainable alternative to the packaging needed for other types of freezing. This helps our customers save money while maintaining product integrity. By integrating advanced technologies and focusing on expansion and sustainability, we are ensuring that Constellation continues to lead the way in Danish cold storage solutions.

Sweden: Expanding Storage and Packing Capabilities

Constellation’s expansion into Sweden began in 2021 with the acquisition of Göteborgs Fryshus, adding 18,000 pallet positions to our network. This strategic move strengthened our presence in the Nordics and positioned us close to key transport hubs, allowing us to offer seamless distribution throughout the region. The acquisition laid the foundation for the continued growth of our Swedish operations.

With our Swedish sites now operating at full capacity, we’ve announced an expansion of 32,000 pallet spaces at a new cold storage facility in Rollsbo/Kungälv, significantly increasing our ability to store and distribute goods across Sweden. This expansion reinforces our commitment to providing seamless, high-quality service, ensuring that as demand rises, we are fully prepared to meet the needs of the Swedish market. 

By enhancing our existing sites and integrating advanced technologies, we’re delivering even more efficient and cost-effective solutions, further solidifying Constellation’s position as a trusted partner to our Swedish customers.

Norway: Partnering Closely with Key Customers

Norway has been one of Constellation’s earliest areas of expansion, beginning with the acquisition of Glacio in 2020, which added 36,000 pallet positions. This was followed by a 14,000-pallet expansion in Rakkestad, which became Norway’s largest public cold store. More recently, a 13,000-pallet project in Tønsberg introduced advanced value-added services like microwave tempering and plate freezing, reflecting our ongoing commitment to innovation and meeting the evolving needs of our customers.

Building on this strong foundation, our expansion in Norway is now directly tied to a long-term contract with our largest customer, Nortuna. At our site in Tønsberg, we are undergoing significant development to enhance value-added services, including deep freezing with microwave tempering, plate freezing, blast freezing, and repacking. 

These services are designed to improve efficiency and reduce costs for our customers, and our close collaboration ensures that we are tailoring our services to provide real, strategic benefits. As we expand and enhance these services, we’re integrating cutting-edge technologies and staying focused on sustainability to provide long-term value to our customers.

Delivering Growth That Enhances Service

Having worked across sales, production, and executive management in the supply chain, I have a unique understanding of what matters most to our Nordic customers. At Constellation, our growth isn’t just about adding capacity – it’s about delivering superior service tailored to our customers’ needs. Whether it’s building new facilities in Denmark, expanding storage and packing in Sweden, or enhancing value-added services in Norway, every move we make is driven by our commitment to providing high-quality, cost-efficient solutions.

We are dedicated to maintaining our core values of excellent service, technological innovation, and sustainability as we continue to expand. With strong leadership and strategic investments across the Nordics, we look forward to continued progress in the coming years, ensuring we remain the trusted logistics partner for businesses throughout the region. By enhancing our existing sites and integrating new technologies, Constellation is poised to remain Europe’s leading cold logistics provider for years to come.

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