RL Cold
RLCold is a full-service cold storage real estate developer offering turnkey build-to-suit facilities for food manufacturing, pharma, 3PL, and grocery clients. The firm operates coast-to-coast in the US, has developed over $700M in projects, and signed a DHL partnership in 2026.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersAtlanta, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What RL Cold does
RLCold is a full-service cold storage real estate developer headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, operating as RL Cold, LLC under the RealtyLink holding structure (founded 1998 by Phil Wilson). The company manages the full development lifecycle — site selection, design, engineering, permitting, construction, leasing, and financing — for build-to-suit, single-tenant cold storage facilities, serving enterprise clients across five vertical segments: Build-to-Suit, Food Manufacturing, Public Warehousing (3PL/PRW), Pharma and Life Sciences, and Food Service and Grocery. The firm has developed over $700M of projects in the past three years and reports a pipeline of $1B+ in build-to-suit opportunities, with active projects spanning Minneapolis, Mt. Laurel, Charleston, Houston (Baytown), Wilmington NC, and other US locations.
The company's technical differentiation centers on sustainable cold storage facility design. Proprietary features include 1MW solar panel systems, ammonia/CO2 natural-refrigerant refrigeration with adiabatic cooling (reducing water requirements by 50%), EV charging infrastructure (including plug-ins for trailer refrigeration units with a 32% energy improvement target), 50,000-gallon rainwater recapture tanks, high-reflectance TPO roofing, and advanced monitoring systems for temperature, humidity, and air quality control relevant to pharmaceutical-grade compliance. The team brings over 200 years of combined cold storage experience, with senior personnel drawn substantially from Americold and military engineering backgrounds.
RLCold generates revenue through three streams: turnkey cold storage development projects (one-time, project-based), NNN-lease financing of build-to-suit facilities (recurring rental income), and consulting services through its wholly-owned subsidiary Saber Solutions. Distribution is direct enterprise sales, supplemented by industry events, corporate content marketing, and a March 2026 MOU with DHL that establishes a co-development channel for next-generation food and beverage cold-chain infrastructure.
RL Cold firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- RL Cold
- Legal name
- RL Cold, LLC
- Website
- https://rlcold.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- RLCold is a full-service cold storage real estate developer offering turnkey build-to-suit facilities for food manufacturing, pharma, 3PL, and grocery clients. The firm operates coast-to-coast in the US, has developed over $700M in projects, and signed a DHL partnership in 2026.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
RL Cold industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cold Storage Real Estate Development
- NAICS
- Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage (493120), Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage (49312), Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors (238220)
- SIC
- Public Warehousing & Storage (4220), Air-Cond & Warm Air Heatg Equip & Comm & Indl Refrig Equip (3585)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Dedicated/Contract Cold Storage (Single-Client) (AFAOAFAB)
Keywords
Where RL Cold is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Atlanta
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
RL Cold business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Cold Storage Development Services: Full-service real estate development managing site selection, design, engineering, permitting, construction, leasing, and financing of cold storage facilities. RLCold develops custom build-to-suit facilities for single-tenant use, providing exclusive access to storage spaces tailored to specific business requirements.
- NNN Lease Financing: RLCold has financial backing to develop build-to-suit projects for triple net lease (NNN) tenants. The company secures incentives for development projects and provides capital for cold storage development.
- Saber Solutions Consulting: Turnkey consulting solutions for cold storage needs including facility assessment, operational audits, process optimization, technology solutions, design and acquisition assessment, existing site redesign/retrofit, and new development advisory services.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom cold storage development |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
RL Cold product offering
Product offeringCore offering
RLCold is a full-service cold storage real estate developer that manages site selection, design, engineering, permitting, construction, leasing, and financing for build-to-suit refrigerated warehouse facilities. The company delivers single-tenant cold storage buildings tailored to client operational requirements, alongside sustainable design features such as solar, ammonia/CO2 refrigeration, rainwater recapture, and EV charging. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary Saber Solutions, RLCold also provides consulting, facility assessments, operational audits, and retrofit advisory services.
Product overview
RLCold is a full-service cold storage real estate developer offering a comprehensive suite of services rather than a single unified software product. The company's core offerings include Build to Suit Services for custom cold storage facility development, specialized cold storage solutions for Food Manufacturing, Public Warehousing (3PL/PRW), Pharma and Life Sciences, and Food Service & Grocery markets. Additionally, Saber Solutions provides consulting and advisory services for property management, operational assessments, process optimization, and technology solutions. The portfolio ranges from ground-up development to existing facility retrofit consulting, serving clients from concept through operational handoff.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Saber Solutions: Turnkey consulting solutions for cold storage needs including property management, facility assessments, operational audits, process optimization, technology solutions, and engineering and design services.
Products and services
- Build to Suit Cold Storage Development
Quantifiable outcome
- 32% improvement in energy performance from energy-efficient features
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use RL Cold
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
RL Cold technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
RL Cold partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- DHLcoreRLCold signed an MOU with DHL to accelerate next-generation food & beverage cold-chain infrastructure development. This partnership aims to develop advanced cold storage facilities to support DHL's food and beverage logistics operations, combining RLCold's development expertise with DHL's global logistics network.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
RL Cold competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Lineage Logistics: Lineage Logistics is the world's largest temperature-controlled warehouse and logistics operator, with significant real estate development capability for cold storage facilities. It is directly comparable as both an operator of cold storage real estate and a builder of new cold chain infrastructure serving similar enterprise food, retail, and pharma customers.
- Americold Logistics: Americold is a leading global cold storage operator and owner/developer of temperature-controlled facilities, and the source of multiple RLCold senior executives. It is comparable as a vertically integrated cold storage developer-operator serving food manufacturing, retail, and pharma customers.
- United States Cold Storage: United States Cold Storage is a major North American public refrigerated warehouse operator serving food and beverage customers with a nationwide facility footprint. It is comparable as an operator-developer in the same temperature-controlled warehousing market as RLCold's build-to-suit customers.
- VersaCold Logistics Services: VersaCold is a leading North American temperature-controlled logistics provider operating refrigerated warehouses across Canada, the US, and Mexico. It is comparable as a cold storage operator with active facility development needs in the same enterprise food/logistics customer segments RLCold serves.
- Congebec: Congebec is one of Canada's largest temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics providers serving food manufacturers, retailers, and foodservice operators. It is comparable as a regional cold storage operator with parallel development and facility-expansion needs similar to RLCold's 3PL/public warehousing segment.
- Interstate Warehousing: Interstate Warehousing is a US public refrigerated warehouse operator serving frozen food manufacturers, retailers, and distributors. It is comparable as a cold storage operator with active facility development and expansion requirements in similar vertical markets to RLCold's pipeline.
- Burris Logistics: Burris Logistics is a Mid-Atlantic-based temperature-controlled warehousing, food distribution, and logistics provider. It is comparable as a cold storage operator with similar food manufacturing and foodservice customer base requiring build-to-suit facilities akin to RLCold's portfolio.
- AGRO Merchants Group: AGRO Merchants is a global cold storage and logistics operator with facilities across the Americas and Europe serving protein, produce, and dairy customers. It is comparable as a cold storage operator with active real estate development requirements analogous to RLCold's build-to-suit single-tenant model.
Emerging players
- Cold Box (Northland Cold Storage): Cold Box is a growing cold storage operator focused on serving regional food and beverage customers with smaller-format temperature-controlled facilities. It is comparable as an emerging player in the same cold chain infrastructure market RLCold targets, though smaller in scale than the major incumbents.
Broad incumbents
- Trammell Crow Company: Trammell Crow is a major commercial real estate developer with an industrial and logistics practice that includes cold storage build-to-suit projects. It is comparable as a broader industrial real estate developer competing for large enterprise build-to-suit mandates, though not specialized in cold storage the way RLCold is.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
RL Cold social profiles
Digital presenceRL Cold financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
RL Cold leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
RL Cold subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
RL Cold funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
RL Cold M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about RL Cold
What does RL Cold do?
RLCold is a full-service cold storage real estate developer that manages site selection, design, engineering, permitting, construction, leasing, and financing for build-to-suit refrigerated warehouse facilities. The company delivers single-tenant cold storage buildings tailored to client operational requirements, alongside sustainable design features such as solar, ammonia/CO2 refrigeration, rainwater recapture, and EV charging. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary Saber Solutions, RLCold also provides consulting, facility assessments, operational audits, and retrofit advisory services.
Is RL Cold a public or private company?
RL Cold is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was RL Cold founded?
RL Cold was founded in -1. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is RL Cold based?
RL Cold is headquartered in Atlanta, United States, in the North America region.
How does RL Cold make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Cold Storage Development Services are the primary driver. The others are NNN Lease Financing and saber Solutions Consulting.
Who are RL Cold's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Lineage Logistics, Americold Logistics, United States Cold Storage, VersaCold Logistics Services, Congebec, Interstate Warehousing, Burris Logistics and AGRO Merchants Group. Cold Box (Northland Cold Storage) is listed as an emerging player. Trammell Crow Company is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does RL Cold have an API?
No public API is recorded for RL Cold.
What industry is RL Cold in?
RL Cold's product category is Cold Storage Real Estate Development. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAOAFAB, Dedicated/Contract Cold Storage (Single-Client). Its NAICS code is 493120 and its SIC code is 4220.