Pharr lands new $15M cold storage facility as produce trade continues to expand

Pharr is adding new cold storage capacity as fresh produce volumes through its international bridge continue to grow.

IMAS Fresh broke ground Friday on a 55,000-square-foot cold storage facility in the city.

The company is part of Grupo Interenlace, a group of companies that provide export logistics services including customs brokerage, transportation and refrigerated storage.

Its director, César Luis García Amabilis, said the $15 million investment reflects continued confidence in the fresh produce sector.

“It is a strong industry. It has faced a recent negative impact, but people have to eat,” García Amabilis said. “This industry continues to grow.”

At roughly the size of a football field, the two-story facility is designed for temperature-controlled operations and will include 42,000 square feet of refrigerated storage, 22 loading docks, insulated panels, and operate at temperatures of up to 33 degrees Fahrenheit.

Héctor Sáenz, director of business operations for Member Construction, said the design supports product quality, freshness, and efficient handling.

Industry outlook and operations

García Amabilis said the company will focus on customer service.

“There may be many warehouses, but quality service is something we are committed to. Our motto is ‘to serve in order to grow,’ and that is what we always strive to do,” he said.

IMAS Fresh is also working to automate a portion of its warehouse operations.

“We have an integrated proprietary system, and the idea is also to install a system in which pallets are automatically entered into our system upon receipt, without having to capture the information manually,” García Amabilis said.

Construction on the project, which is expected to create 15 new jobs, is scheduled to be completed by mid-August.

“It is a project that will bring many benefits to the city, a lot of work, and hopefully growth for our company as well,” García Amabilis said.

He said the company received support from the city of Pharr, but did not disclose specific details.

“We have found a great deal of support from the city of Pharr,” he said. “They have offered incentives and have been very open to collaborating with us and helping us so that we can continue investing in this city.”

Pharr’s role in produce trade

Dante Galeazzi, president and CEO of the Texas International Produce Association, said projects like this reflect the Valley’s importance in feeding North America.

“Texas is fundamental to feeding not only the United States, but all of North America,” he said. “What we do here is extremely important.”

Galeazzi said more than 9 billion pounds of fresh produce cross the Pharr International Bridge each year, while more than 13 billion pounds enter the United States through Texas from around the world.

“We are indispensable to keeping the world fed, and that requires partners like the García family, with the vision to make that possible,” he said.

Víctor Pérez, president and CEO of the Pharr Economic Development Corporation, described the groundbreaking ceremony as the culmination of perseverance. 

“These projects take months, and sometimes more than a year, and require a great deal of work to come together,” Pérez said.

He also noted that Pharr’s role as a logistics and industrial hub will continue to grow as a result of the ongoing expansion of the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, which is expected to be completed this quarter.