Miami-based Cold-Link Logistics, a cold-storage management firm, plans to invest $85.5 million and create 123 jobs in Lumberton, according to a release from the state.
Lumberton City Council and Robeson County commissioners will be asked to approve a combined total of about $7 million in tax refunds for the project, according to local officials.
Cold-Link Logistics is a full-service third-party logistics cold-storage company. Its cold-storage locations provide customized product handling, storage, order picking and load preparation, blast freezing, and other logistics services. Cold-Link plans to build a 233,000-square-foot temperature-controlled building on 55 acres in the Southeast Crossroads Industrial Park in Lumberton. The facility will serve local and regional poultry businesses, as well as other food companies, manufacturers and distributors.
Cold-Link, founded in 2020 is a subsidiary of family-owned Mandich Group, based in neighboring Hollywood, Florida.
“We are excited to expand our footprint into the great state of North Carolina,” said Michael Mandich, managing partner of Cold-Link Logistics. “There’s a strong interest among the protein and other food manufacturers in this area to work with a family-owned and operated company like Cold-Link that can offer first-class, value-added services. The Robeson County Community has welcomed us with open arms.”
Cold-Link also has nine similar facilities in Auburndale and Orlando, Florida, Holland, Michigan, Providence, Rhode Island, and Sioux City, Iowa. The Mandich Group was started by brothers Michael, Mark and Nick Mandich in 2016 and it has more than 275 employees.
New positions for the company will include managers, supervisors, warehouse staff and shipping and receiving personnel. The jobs will have average annual salary of $50,128, which exceeds the Robeson County average of $42,964. These new jobs could create a potential annual payroll impact of more than $6.1 million, according to the state.
Recruiting Cold-Link to Lumberton was a concerted effort, says Channing Jones, the former executive director of Robeson County’s Office of Economic Development. Jones is now CEO of Lumbee Holdings, the for-profit arm of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.
“Recruiting Cold-Link Logistics was a direct and targeted economic development effort to recruit additional cold storage capability to our region that spanned over 16 months,” Jones says. “This is one of my proudest recruitment efforts due to the targeted industry approach, the impact the facility will have on our existing industries and the large capital
investment by Cold-Link Logistics.”
A performance-based grant of $375,000 from the One North Carolina Fund has been awarded to the business. Companies must meet job creation and capital investment targets to qualify for payment.