NEWS RELEASE

FOR RELEASE: Thursday, June 22, 2017
CONTACT: Natalie Likness, Governor’s Office of Economic Development, 605.773.4633

Win Chill breaks ground in Foundation Park

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Sioux Falls Development Foundation hosted groundbreaking ceremonies for Win Chill, LLC, the first project in Foundation Park, on Thursday, June 22. Win Chill will now begin construction on a 205,000 square-foot full-service refrigerated foods warehouse and distribution center on a 54-acre site purchased from the Development Foundation that provides adequate space for future expansion of the Win Chill operation in Sioux Falls.

Interest from potential clients is driving Win Chill to pursue an aggressive construction schedule and dirt work is already underway at the site. The new Win Chill structure is being built by Gil Haugan Construction of Sioux Falls with freezer technology experts Tippmann Innovation providing technical support.

The groundbreaking symbolically opens Foundation Park for development and paves the way for all aspects of necessary infrastructure construction. Marion Road will be extended and paved out to the park this fall, along with half of Foundation Court. All utilities, fiber optic cable, water and sanitary sewer will be extended within the next year. Win Chill’s Foundation Park operation will fully utilize rail service provided by BNSF Railway, so the Development Foundation is moving forward with the master rail plan. That means streets, utilities and rail service not just for Win Chill, but also for several other companies actively interested in Foundation Park sites, according to Dean Dziedzic, SFDF Vice President of Economic Development.

“The activity in Foundation Park is intense,” Dziedzic said. “Between infrastructure projects, rail service work and Win Chill’s site preparation, things are happening fast in the park. This level of activity and the resultant road and utility infrastructure improvements make it easier for other companies to move forward on potential sites in Foundation Park.”

Responding to a need in the marketplace, Win Chill was created by investments from Legacy Developments; RLM, LLC; Alyce-Gil, LLC; Strongbox, LLC, and Freeze One, LLC, which will provide management services at the $40 million facility. Win Chill expects the distribution center to be operational by early spring of 2018, with 30 to 35 individuals employed in the first phase of operation.

The building will use state-of-the-art loading docks in conjunction with high-speed doors within the warehouse to accommodate large volumes of refrigerated truckloads to support food manufacturing customers in a four-state region. Important services of the Win Chill facility include the QF+ In-Rack Freezing system, a blast freezing technology created by Tippmann Innovations, which will freeze pallets up to four times faster than traditional blast freezers while reducing energy consumption up to 50 percent.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard spoke at the groundbreaking event, which was hosted by SFDF Chair Steve Statz. Other speakers included Win Chill equity partner Ralph Marquardt, Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Huether, Chamber of Commerce Chair Dr. Dave Kapaska and BNSF Railway Regional Manager for Economic Development Justin Pearson.

“Win Chill is a partnership among proven South Dakota business leaders who are truly groundbreakers in their industries,” said Gov. Daugaard. “This project will be a state-of-the-art player in frozen foods distribution, with all the hallmarks of being a game-changing company. Today’s groundbreaking marks a great day for South Dakota and the entire tri-state region. My congratulations to the equity partners for their decision to locate in Foundation Park.”

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Media Note: A photo of today's groundbreaking ceremony is attached. Please consider using this caption: "From left to right: Slater Barr, Sioux Falls Development Foundation; Bill Rush, Win Chill investor; Gil Haugan, Win Chill investor; Justin Pearson, BNSF Railway; Steve Statz, Sioux Falls Development Foundation; Mayor Mike Huether, City of Sioux Falls; Ralph Marquardt, Win Chill investor; Gov. Dennis Daugaard, State of South Dakota; Dr. Dave Kapaska, Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce; Sam Tippmann, Tippmann Innovations; and Jeff Davis, Win Chill investor." Photo courtesy of Stephen Thurman.

Please contact Natalie Likness, GOED media relations coordinator, at 605-773-4633 or natalie.likness@state.sd.us, for additional photos.