A&A Flagler Site Visit 4-2016

Flagler Global Logistics: A Single-Source, Third-Party Logistics Provider for the Perishables Industry
Miami, Florida USA Site Visit
April 25, 2016
By
Richard Armstrong

Key Personnel:
David Bouchard – President
Manny Fernandez – Executive Vice President of Logistics Services
Alexander Gomez – Vice President of Innovation
Kathleen Rodriguez – Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations

Flagler Global Logistics Overview
Flagler Global Logistics (FGL) is a unique, integrated real estate and logistics company located in South Florida at its South Florida Logistics Center (SFLC) campus on the north side of the Miami International Airport. The campus resides on more than 200 acres of land that includes an intermodal logistics hub with direct rail access to and from Port Miami and Port Everglades via Florida East Coast Railway.

FGL’s modern campus currently consists of four modern buildings with two additional facilities under construction. Together these six buildings total approximately 1.1 million square feet of state-of-the-art warehouse and distribution space. Upon full build out, the campus will accommodate up to 2 million square feet of industrial space.

FGL’s own third-party logistics (3PL) operations revolve around its bundled suite of services called FlaglerFresh. FlaglerFresh provides value-add cold chain perishable solutions including fumigation, repacking, refrigerated storage, transportation management, custom brokerage and Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) applications.

FlaglerFresh operations in Building One utilize 114,000+ square feet of space with 47 dock doors. The space consists of six cold storage rooms, one repack room and four fumigation chambers. The 360 pallet position fumigation chambers regulate the commodities at the optimal temperature while safely recapturing 95-98% of the fumigant while bringing the product back to its desired temperature.

FlaglerFresh service offerings include extensive inspections, custom packaging, private label opportunities, and pack-to-order premium services.

Target Commodities
Blueberries	Onions
Lemons	Garlic
Tomatoes	Brussel Sprouts
Oranges	Apples
Clementine	Cherries
Avocados	Tropical Roots

Fumigation Process
FGL has a patented, cold chamber fumigation method that consistently exposes the commodity to the coldest temperature possible which meets USDA regulation. Temperatures during the fumigation process are tightly controlled. FGL’s method is far superior to traditional fumigation methods which expose the commodity to ambient (cold, warm, humid, rainy, etc.) temperature and conditions.

Activity during the video shoot of the South Florida Logistics Center Wednesday Sept 10, 2014 in Miami. (David Adame/For SFLC)

In South Florida, traditional fumigation usually involves pumping the fumigant into a refrigerated trailer/container parked in an open lot. Product in the trailer/container must be allowed to warm up to 40 degrees or higher per the USDA regulations for the fumigating gas to work properly. If the product is fumigated below 40 degrees, the commodity will be damaged. The trailer/container doors are opened, exposing product to the elements. Fans are used to remove the gas from the container. The expelled gas is not recaptured, but released into the environment. In the northeast US, the traditional method of fumigation is performed under a tarp instead of a trailer/container. The exposure of the commodity to the ambient temperatures is the same.

FGL’s fumigation process delivers consistent, high quality products. Third-party studies have proven that blueberries, grapes and asparagus have extended retail shelf lives by 10 additional days using the FGL process. These products hold their firmness, appearance and quality much better than when fumigated with traditional fumigation methods.

FGL’s extended shelf life process is of critical importance to food retailers and distributors. Most of FlaglerFresh’s commodities are imports by refrigerated air and ocean containers.

Produce	Produce Origins
Asparagus	Peru
Blueberries	West Coast of South America and Argentina
Flowers	Colombia and Ecuador
Grapes	Chile and Peru

FGL Certification and Inspection Capabilities
FGL works hand-in-hand with the Customs and Border Production (CBP) – Agriculture Division and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) which has control offices in the South American countries.

In addition, FGL has the following certifications:

USDA certified treatment facility
FDA certified facility
Primus GFS certified facility
HAACP certified
SQF II certified

FGL’s repack operations includes a detailed inspection process down to the individual berry. Similar detail is used for citrus and other commodities.

Next Steps for Growth
FGL has started to handle fresh seafood, a logical product expansion area, as the commodity recently ranked amongst the top ten imports into South Florida.

The company is building a facility in the Greater Philadelphia Region, Pennsylvania, which is the top ranking port for produce entering the United States. A 204,000-square-foot facility is planned to open in the second quarter of 2017.

FGL’s transportation management involves air, ocean, rail and truck. Port drayage services and full truckloads to distribution centers dominate truckload activity, but less-than-truckload is offered. The SFLC is a logical distribution location for product destined for the southeastern United States.

Flagler Global Logistics Operations Summary
FGL is a single-source solution, offering a unique blend of high quality cold chain logistics and flexible real estate solutions. FGL’s services are scale-able and customized to meet each of their customer’s individual needs.

Sources: A&A Primary Research, http://www.flaglergl.com/