Americold

{{Short description|Logistics company}}

{{Multiple issues|

{{Advert|date=July 2015}}

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{{Infobox company

| name = Americold Realty Trust, Inc.

| logo = Americold logo.png

| type = Public company

| traded_as = {{ubl|class=nowrap|{{NYSE|COLD}}|Russell 1000 component}}

| hq_location = Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.

| num_locations = 250

| num_employees = {{nowrap|16,275 (December 31, 2021)}}

| website = {{url|americold.com}}

| footnotes =

}}

Americold Realty Trust, Inc. is an American temperature controlled warehousing and transportation company based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is in the business of modern commercialized temperature controlled warehousing for the storage of perishable goods, one of the forms of food preservation. Americold is the 2nd largest temperature-controlled warehousing and distribution services provider in the world.{{Cite web |last=David |first=Allison |date=November 15, 2017 |title=World's largest temperature-controlled warehouse company plans IPO |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/11/15/worlds-largest-temperature-controlled-warehouse.html |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=www.bizjournals.com}}{{Cite web |date=2018-09-18 |title=Americold Realty Trust Recognized by Global Cold Chain Alliance for Energy Excellence |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180918005887/en/Americold-Realty-Trust-Recognized-by-Global-Cold-Chain-Alliance-for-Energy-Excellence |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=www.businesswire.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Cruz |first=Melaina de la |date=2022-03-15 |title=Americold Stays Cools Under Pressure |url=https://americanbuildersquarterly.com/2022/americold-phil-beaulieu/ |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=American Builders Quarterly |language=en-US}}

==History==

Cold storage companies began to appear when food preservation using ice became commercialized. Ice was farmed from lakes during the winter, and stored, surrounded by straw to insulate it, so that it could be used well into early summer. Ice houses and ice warehouses began to appear and blocks of ice were sold for domestic and commercial use. Then in 1922, Clarence Birdseye founded the modern frozen food industry, by pioneering fast freezing (now called blast freezing), based on learning the benefits of low temperature freezing of fish practiced by the Inuit in Arctic regions.

File:Atlantic_Ice_and_Coal_Sign.jpg

Americold's history began in the early 20th century, around the time of the first ice and coal companies. Americold came from mergers and acquisitions involving Atlanta Ice and Coal Company, Atlanta City Brewing Company (later known as Atlanta Brewing and Ice Company,) Versacold, Munford, Jackson Atlantic, United Refrigerated Services, Atlas Cold Storage, and others.

File:Atlantic_I_and_C_truck.jpg

In 1903, entrepreneur Ernest Woodruff merged three cold storage warehouses to form Atlanta Ice and Coal Company and in 1909 renamed the company Atlantic Ice and Coal as part of a large consolidation of ice and coal companies throughout the eastern states. In 1919, Woodruff bought {{cite web|url=http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/the-chronicle-of-coca-cola-a-man-named-woodruff/ |title=The Chronicle of Coca-Cola - A Man Named Woodruff |publisher=The Coca-Cola Company |date=2012-01-01 |accessdate=2016-12-10}} the Coca-Cola Company from Asa Candler’s children for $25,000,000.

In 1935, Atlantic Ice & Coal Company changed names to Atlantic Company{{cite web|url=http://www.rustycans.com/COM/month0504.html |title=Atlantic Beer: May 2004 Can of the Month at |website=Rustycans.com |date= |accessdate=2016-12-10}} and began to expand into a variety of different businesses, including cold storage and beer production, the latter contributing up to 50% of the company's revenues at its peak.

Atlantic Company diversified into ice convenience store development under the name EZ stores, before household refrigerators were commonplace. It also ran a fast food operation called Wishbone Fried Chicken.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

Atlantic Company merged with Munford Do it Yourself stores and became Atlantic-Munford, rapidly developing its convenience store growth.{{Cite news|last=Teltsch|first=Kathleen|date=1993-09-18|title=Dillard Munford, 75; Founded a Chain of Stores|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/18/obituaries/dillard-munford-75-founded-a-chain-of-stores.html|access-date=2020-09-23|issn=0362-4331}}

The company then merged with Jackson Minit Market and Handy Andy, and was renamed Jackson Atlantic, growing to 40 warehouses in the USA. It was one of the largest warehouse networks at that time. The company went public in 1968 and a few years later merged with United Refrigerated Services. The company then set out to develop the USA's most comprehensive cold storage network.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

Atlanta became the company's home again in the early 1980s.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

Acquisitions and mergers continued during the 1980s and 1990s with the company's current name, Americold, appearing in 1997.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

In 2010, Americold acquired Versacold to become the largest temperature-controlled warehousing and distribution services provider in the world.{{Cite web|title=Americold Realty Trust successful acquires Versacold « Investment New Zealand|url=http://www.investinnz.co.nz/investmentNZ/2010/12/americold-realty-trust-successful-acquires-versacold/|access-date=2020-09-23|language=en-US}}

In 2020, Americold acquired [https://agromerchants.com Agromerchants], which is the fourth largest temperature-controlled warehousing company in the world.