KENNEWICK — The new operator of a refrigerated freight train warehouse south of the Tri-Cities shut down abruptly this week amid reports its private equity partner withdrew funding.
Tiger Cool Express LLC closed its “Tiger Tri-Cities Logistics Center” on June 13 just six months after it signed a lease/purchase agreement for the 201,000-square-foot facility with Union Pacific Railroad.
The property is at 627 Railex Road, southeast of Pasco off Highway 12 in Walla Walla County.
It is neighbors with Northwest Wine Services, the Pacific Northwest’s largest wine storage and distribution facility with 760,000-square-feet.
Ste. Michelle Wine Estates confirmed it remains a tenant of the wine facility and uses it for storage and truck deliveries after it stopped being served by rail.
Tiger Cool planned to provide refrigerated freight services for agricultural commodities in the Mid-Columbia and to add a ramp to accommodate rail.
An official close to Tiger Cool who asked not to be identified said the company is not bankrupt and is not abandoning Wallula.
He characterized the shut down as a “self-imposed time-out” caused by a difficult market for freight companies. Tiger Cool is seeking new investors.
He declined to disclose how many employees were affected by the shut down. It reportedly had about 50 workers.
Food train
In January, Tiger Cool executives touted Wallula’s access to rail, roads, water and labor, saying it had the making of being the region’s next “global transportation hub.”
After establishing connections between Wallula, Wash., and the Northwest Seaport Alliance docks in Seattle and Tacoma, as well as to Chicago, it said it would look to expand along the Interstate 5 corridor and into Mexico.
Its 700 shipping containers are in temporary storage in Chicago, the official told the Herald.
Tiger Cool designed a new ramp to facilitate the movement of shipping containers between different types of transportation, namely trains and trucks..
The ramp is fully engineered and could be built in two to three months. If the original vision does not pan out, he said Tiger Cool will alter its business model to serve other shippers.
Tiger Cool Express, established in 20I0, was backed by a $15 million investment by Tiger Infrastructure Partners and Barings in 2017, according to a company profile provided by PitchBook, a Seattle research firm that tracks private equity and investment trends.
Barings sold its stake to an undisclosed buyer in December, PitchBook said.
Tiger Infrastructure Partners, based in New York and London, could not be reached to comment.
The warehouse remains available for rent. An active listing on Loopnet offers the space at an annual rate of $9 per square foot. The warehouse is physically divided into six individual spaces, linked by roll up doors. The listing indicates the owner is open to an offer to purchase the property.
