US firm’s local cold storage consolidation proceeds apace
US giant Emergent Cold has made its second major Australian move in 12 months snapping up Montague Cold Storage facilities in Melbourne.
Montague is transitioning up the supply chain and makes a tasty target, given the broader Emergent Cold strategy of acquiring and developing a global network of cold chain businesses.
Montague comes with site locations at Allansford, Truganina and Tullamarine, in a transaction that surfaced just before Christmas.
Read how Emergent Cold took over Swire assets last February, here
“We want to thank all the executives and staff who have contributed to this wonderful business over 60 years,” Emergent quotes Montague chairman Ray Montague as saying.
“The Montague family and management team will be focussing our energy and future endeavours in the horticultural industry, where there are many exciting opportunities both nationally and internationally.
“With this sale, Montague will be well positioned to grow our horticultural business with further investments in product development, technology and distribution infrastructure.
“We remain committed to delivering the broad product offering and value-added customer support that our customers, partners, growers and supply base have come to expect from Montague.”
It is the second 60-year-old operation with local connections that Emergent Cold has swallowed after the Swire Cold Storage (SCS) purchase last year.
The American firm has grown through a combination of business acquisitions and new greenfield developments in emerging and developing markets.
“Combining Montague’s assets with our national service capability will further strengthen our offering to the Australian and International market.” Emergent CEO Neal Rider says.