Aug 8, 2012 10:30 AM

Nearly seven years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans LA and forced one of the largest cold storage facilities in the nation to close, Briggs Equipment is supplying state-of-the-art electric forklifts to New Orleans Cold Storage company’s new $40 million facility at the Port of New Orleans.

The 142,000-square-foot warehouse is the largest in the United States. Briggs is contracted to provide and service 18 new electric forklifts inside the building and 15 others that will be used to move product from the facility to waiting ships at the port.

“The warehouse was constructed to be environmentally sound and energy-efficient,” said Paul Pressler, branch manager of Briggs Equipment New Orleans. “That’s why our innovative, eco-friendly electric forklifts are a perfect match for the facility.”

New Orleans Cold Storage is the oldest cold storage company in North America. It’s one of the largest suppliers of beef, poultry, and pork exports in the nation. Among other products, the facility handles nearly half of the poultry exported from Louisiana farmers to foreign destinations.