Lineage, Inc. (formerly known as Lineage Logistics) is the world's largest real estate investment company that specializes in temperature-controlled warehouses. It is owned by Bay Grove, LLC. In 2017, Lineage began operating in international markets and became the largest company in the world that stores goods in refrigerated warehouses. Its storage capacity is more than 3 billion cubic feet, and by the end of 2023, it had acquired over 100 companies. Lineage manages more than 450 facilities in 18 countries. It employs approximately 26,000 people worldwide, with locations in North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region.
History
In April 2012, the company was founded by Adam Forste, a former investment banker from Morgan Stanley. He created Bay Grove Capital, LLC, by combining several warehousing and logistics companies. The first acquisition was in December 2008 when Seafreeze was bought from Toyo Susian Kaisha. In 2009, the company acquired CityIce, and in 2010, it acquired Flint River Services. In 2011, Terminal Freezers of Santa Maria, California, and Richmond Cold Storage, purchased from Atlanta Equity, were added.
In 2012, Lineage had the fifth-largest network of temperature-controlled warehouse facilities in North America, according to rankings by the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses (IARW). The company operated 40 facilities in eight states, including locations near international ports in Savannah, Georgia; Seattle, Washington; and Norfolk, Virginia. It also provided warehouse management, consulting, and food processing support.
In a March 2021 interview with Bloomberg, Lineage CEO Greg Lehmkuhl said the company was preparing for its initial public offering (IPO). The company completed its IPO in July 2024 with a listing on the Nasdaq, raising about $4.5 billion. This made the company valued at over $18 billion.
Operations and technology
By 2015, Lineage's facility network was the second largest in the world, according to the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses. Lineage had 111 facilities in 21 states and was the second largest temperature-controlled storage and shipping company in the United States.
In September 2020, Lineage raised $1.6 billion in equity for technology and expansion.
In March 2021, Lineage raised $1.9 billion in equity for global greenfield developments, facility expansions, mergers and acquisitions, and research and development.
In July 2021, Lineage partnered with 8VC, a logistics technology venture capital firm, to invest further in transportation and logistics technology.
In November 2023, Lineage expanded and established Harnes (Pas-de-Calais) as its European logistics hub by opening a new 17,000 m² (180,000 sq ft) state-of-the-art cold storage facility.
As of March 2024, Lineage has been granted over 75 patents registered in multiple jurisdictions, related to technological advancements in the temperature-controlled logistics sector.
Acquisitions and expansion
In 2012, the company bought Stanford Refrigerated Warehouses and Castle & Cooke Cold Storage. Bill Hendricksen from Castle & Cooke became the company’s CEO. In July 2015, Hendricksen was replaced by W. Gregory Lehmkuhl. The company moved its main office from Irvine, California, to Novi, Michigan.
In April 2013, the company received a $220 million loan and purchased Seattle Cold Storage and a facility in University Park, Illinois. By 2014, most Lineage customers were food producers who needed cold storage, transportation, and logistics services. To meet customer needs, the company focused on automation and buying other businesses. In March 2014, Lineage agreed to buy Millard Refrigerated Services for about $1 billion, its largest purchase at the time. This made Lineage the second-largest temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics company globally. That same year, Lineage acquired Loop Cold Storage, Oneida Cold Storage & Warehouse, Murphy Overseas, and two facilities in Watsonville, California, from Dreisbach Enterprises. In September 2014, the company opened a new temperature-controlled warehouse in Santa Maria, California.
In January 2015, Lineage acquired cold storage facilities in the Pacific Northwest from Columbia Colstor, based in Moses Lake, Washington.
In May 2016, the company opened a $150 million temperature-controlled warehouse in North Charleston, South Carolina, near the Port of Charleston. That August, Lineage bought Consolidated Distribution Corporation in Lombard, Illinois, making it the largest customized redistribution network in the United States. Two months later, it was reported that Lineage was planning to build a large facility at New Century AirCenter in Gardner, Kansas. However, the project was canceled in November 2017 because customer needs changed, even though local officials had approved the plan in July.
In 2017, Lineage entered European markets by buying Partner Logistics, a major cold-chain storage provider. The company also purchased facilities from American Cold Storage in the Midwest and eight warehouses in the Los Angeles area from U.S. Growers Cold Storage. This increased Lineage’s employee count to 7,200 and expanded its operations to 120 temperature-controlled storage facilities.
In November 2019, Lineage expanded into temperature-controlled logistics markets in Australia, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka by acquiring Emergent Cold. In July 2020, the company entered Canada by buying Ontario Refrigerated Services Inc.
During 2018, Lineage acquired 24 companies, including The Yearsley Group, the UK’s largest cold storage and transportation provider. The company also sold minority stakes worth $700 million. Its real estate holdings were valued at $4 billion. That same year, Stonepeak Partners, D1 Capital Partners, and existing investors acquired minority stakes in Lineage worth $700 million.
On February 25, 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported that Lineage acquired Preferred Freezer Services LLC, its largest competitor, in a deal worth over $1 billion. This made Lineage the company with the world’s largest facility network, offering 1.3 billion cubic feet of storage across 200 facilities in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
On May 22, 2020, Lineage acquired the distribution assets of Maines Paper & Food, Inc., a long-standing food distribution company based in Conklin, New York. That June, Lineage bought Emergent Cold, Australia’s largest cold-chain provider, and New Orleans Cold Storage, which included four port facilities in New Orleans, Louisiana; Houston, Texas; and Charleston, South Carolina.
In July 2020, Lineage acquired Henningsen Cold Storage, based in Portland, Oregon, with 14 facilities mainly in Oregon and Washington. This increased Lineage’s employee count to 16,000 and raised its global storage capacity to 50,660,000 cubic meters.
On December 1, 2020, Lineage acquired Pago, a logistics provider in Poland.
In May 2021, Lineage bought Crystal Creek, an e-commerce fulfillment company with five U.S. warehouses, increasing its total acquisitions to 72. That same month, Lineage entered the Spanish market by acquiring Frigorificos de Navarra in Gijón, Spain. In June 2021, the company expanded into European freight by buying UTI Forwarding in Rotterdam and Kloosterboer Group in Europe. It also acquired the cold storage division of Claus Sorensen Group in Denmark. In November 2021, Lineage expanded into Italy by acquiring Kantaro SRL.
In January 2022, Lineage continued its growth by buying Auscold Logistics in South Australia. That same month, the company acquired Van Tuyl Logistics and individual locations from H&S Coldstores in Beneden-Leeuwen and Frigocare Rotterdam BV in Rotterdam.
In March 2022, Lineage expanded its network by acquiring MTC Logistics, adding nearly 38 million cubic feet of storage capacity and over 113,000 pallet positions in the United States. This increased its presence at key ports along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts.
In April 2022, Lineage acquired VersaCold Logistics to expand its operations in Canada. Later that month, the company bought Mandai Link Logistics to enter Singapore.
In August 2022, Lineage acquired Cold Storage Nelson in New Zealand, increasing its presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
In August 2023, Lineage expanded its European network by buying Grupo Fuentes, a Spanish transport and cold storage company. The company also formed a joint venture with SK Logistics to strengthen its presence in northern Vietnam.
In October 2023, Lineage acquired the warehousing and e-commerce assets of Burris Logistics. This deal included eight facilities across six states, adding nearly 1.3 million square feet to Lineage’s network.
Lineage Foundation for Good
In October 2021, Lineage started the Lineage Foundation for Good, which is the charity part of the company. The foundation was created with a $3 million donation from Lineage. It helps the company’s charity work and supports groups that share its goal of finding new and better ways to reduce food waste and help people who don’t have enough food.
In 2022, the foundation helped give away more than 2.7 million pounds of food from customers, gave out nearly $3 million in grants, and tracked over 5,000 hours of volunteer work. That same year, the Lineage Hardship Fund was created to help employees facing difficult times. It gave more than $622,000 to support 152 employees and their families.
The foundation works with groups like Feeding America and Global FoodBanking Network to give meals to people in need. In 2023, Lineage and the foundation supported DC Central Kitchen’s Capital Food Fight and partnered with Forgotten Harvest to give nearly 12,000 families in metro Detroit holiday meal boxes. Also in 2023, the foundation started a new partnership with Jared Goff, the quarterback for the Detroit Lions and the foundation’s global ambassador. This partnership donates meals for every touchdown he throws and gives meals to families in need during the holidays.
Facilities
Lineage has its main office in Novi, Michigan, and offices in many countries around the world. It has about 223 facilities in North America, including in 37 U.S. states, and warehouses in Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.