Tiger Cool Express inks lease/purchase agreement for former Cold Connect Warehouse and property

Earlier this week, Overland, KS-based Tiger Cool Express, a provider of time-definite intermodal services with sustainable capacity throughout North America, said it has inked a lease/purchase agreement, with Union Pacific Railroad, to acquire the Wallula, WA-based former Cold Connect Warehouse and property.

Tiger Cool Express said that the lease/purchase agreement with Union Pacific was signed in late December, noting it is a lease to buy, with Union Pacific owning it until Tiger Cool Express exercises the option. What’s more, the company said this had been in the works for two years, calling it a “transformational opportunity,” in which it will develop its Tri-Cities Logistics Center.

The company said that the Tri-Cities Logistics Center will benefit the entire agricultural and manufacturing community in the three-state region—Washington, Idaho, and Oregon— by providing cost-effective and environmentally benign transportation capacity. And it explained that initial service is intended to be offered between Wallula and the Northwest Seaport Alliance on-dock facilities for dry imports and exports (in ISO equipment), as well as between Wallula and Chicago (and beyond) with Tiger Cool Express refrigerated domestic containers. Tiger Cool said its goal is to eventually expand into other markets, like the I-5 corridor and Mexico.

“This facility has the potential to be a ‘triple threat,’” said Theodore Prince, Tiger's Chief Strategy Officer and Co-founder, in a statement. “Beyond supporting our existing domestic business and agricultural exports, the Tri-Cities has land, labor, water and electricity that could make it a global logistics hub. Since the other import ‘corners’ (southwest, northeast and southeast) lack adjacent land, this northwest facility could offer an environmentally benign and economically efficient transloading locus. It looks like the Inland Empire 30 years ago.”

Prince told LM that for Tiger Cool’s current customers, this effort will provide more reliable capacity, and a non-truck option, for its ISO customers.

“We will have a unique advantage in the PNW that nobody else has,” he said. “PNW will be more important as produce exits California.”

Tiger Cool Express laid out the following items, with benefits and goals, for the Tri-Cities Logistics Center, including:

• the completion of the intermodal ramp started by Union Pacific;
• Washington growers and shippers can access reliable capacity through modal conversion to reduce costs;
• the reduction of truck traffic will reduce highway congestion and pollution;
• there are no initial plans for box car or warehouse—intermodal service obviates the need

Relative to Prince’s commentary regarding the Inland Empire, the company said that just as the Inland Empire grew to accommodate Southern California expansion, Tri-Cities are becoming an alternative to western Oregon and Washington, adding that Tri-Cities has things that the Inland Empire lacks, including: land, labor, water, and electricity. It also said that serves as what it called a “fourth corner” for e-commerce import distribution strategy.