Zhongpin Inc., a leading meat and food processing company in China, has started to construct of a new cold-chain distribution centre in Changge, Henan province, China.

The new distribution centre will have a 25,000 square metre multi-temperature hybrid refrigeration facility, quality assurance centres, a fresh food processing and sorting plant, and other associated operations. The centre will be integrated into Zhongpin's advanced information technology system.

The new centre will provide processing, storage, and distribution services, and also will serve as platform for integration of clients' resources, to provide e-commerce, quality assurance, and exhibition services for Zhongpin and other third-party clients. This new facility will be part of Zhongpin's cold-chain logistics system.

Zhongpin will spend about US$16.2 million on the new centre, which should be completed and begin production in December 2010. The expected payback period for the new centre is 5.8 years.

Xianfu Zhu, chairman and CEO of Zhongpin Inc., explained, "Combined with our other distribution centres, this new cold-chain centre will strengthen our advantage as the only supplier in China that distributes 100% of its food by using an advanced cold-chain logistics system. With all of our distribution centres, plus our 500-plus refrigerated delivery trucks that are equipped with GPS and automatic temperature control systems, we will continue to provide chilled pork and fresh food to our customers with the highest quality and safety.''

"We believe more than 70% of the capacity in the new distribution centre will be used to provide services to third-party organisations, with Zhongpin using about 30% of the centre's capacity. Providing these advanced logistics services to other organisations should be a new business opportunity and growth enhancer for us, and it should further strengthen our position in the market, help improve our profit margins, and help provide good returns to our shareholders," he said.

As a leader in the industry, Zhongpin was recognised in 2009 by the Logistics Association China as a "cold-chain management demonstration company."