Five years mark an important milestone for any company. For us, they also represent an opportunity to reflect on the decisions we’ve made, recognize what we’ve built, and, above all, define even more clearly the path forward for the coming years.
When we launched Emergent Cold LatAm, we always had a clear vision: to build an integrated logistics network that would enable our customers to operate in different Latin American markets with the same standard of quality and efficiency.
That vision has grown into an operation spanning 11 countries, with 110 warehouses, 1.3 million pallet spaces, 9.4 million m³ of capacity, more than 7,000 employees, and over US$2 billion invested in the region. Today, we are the largest cold chain company in Latin America and the fifth largest in the world.
Looking at the results we’ve achieved, we have many reasons to celebrate. But we also know that there is still a long road ahead as we continue to fulfill our mission.
Throughout this journey, certain lessons have come to guide the way we will continue to grow.
1. A Network Built to Create Value for Customers
From the very beginning, we understood that growth would only make sense if it made our customers’ operations simpler, more efficient, and more integrated. It was this vision that guided every decision we made regarding the expansion of our network.
More than simply expanding our capacity, we sought to build an integrated network capable of offering customers the same operational quality and level of service across different markets.
Today, we see more and more customers expanding their operations with us across multiple countries. This shows that our expansion has fulfilled its purpose: to enable them to consolidate suppliers, reduce the complexity of logistics management, gain operational efficiency, and rely on a partner capable of supporting their growth throughout Latin America.
The greatest recognition of this work comes when a client decides to expand their partnership with us. This trust is the result of the value we’ve been able to generate for their business.
2. A Culture That Keeps Pace with Growth
Expanding an operation is a challenge. Doing so while maintaining a strong culture is an even greater challenge.
Our rapid growth has brought new countries, new teams, and new ways of working. This makes it even more important to invest in integrating our people and strengthening our culture.
We know we still have significant opportunities in this area. We want every employee to understand not only what we do, but also the purpose of our work and the impact it has on our clients.
We will continue to invest in processes, people development, and communication to strengthen team engagement across the region. After all, an integrated operation depends, first and foremost, on people working toward the same purpose.
3. The True Value of Technology
Since the company’s inception, we’ve made a strategic choice: to build an operation supported by integrated systems and standardized processes.
It was a significant investment and a pioneering decision for our industry. This decision allowed us to grow in a structured way and create a solid technological foundation for the entire organization.
Now, the next step is to harness the full potential of this structure. This means expanding the use of artificial intelligence, automation, traceability, and data analytics to make our operations increasingly efficient and precise.
At the same time, it means offering our customers greater visibility into their operations, with real-time information that supports decision-making and increases the predictability of the supply chain.
For us, the greatest value of technology lies in how we use it to increase operational efficiency, support our teams, and provide our customers with greater transparency and control.
4. Leaders for the Future
No company can sustain its growth by investing in infrastructure alone. It must develop people who are prepared to lead teams, make decisions, and guide the company through the challenges ahead.
We are proud to see professionals who have grown alongside Emergent Cold LatAm taking on leadership roles over the past five years. We want to expand this trend.
Our goal is to create opportunities so that the company’s growth also translates into professional development for those who are part of it.
The next five years begin now
We’ve built a solid network, invested more than US$2 billion in the region, earned the trust of major clients in various countries, and created a technological foundation ready to support the company’s growth. What we’ve achieved so far gives us the confidence to move forward.
We want to strengthen our culture, develop new leaders, use technology more efficiently, and continue to raise the standard of service we deliver.
The first five years have shown that we are building a company poised for growth.
The next five will be dedicated to ensuring that this growth generates even more value for our customers, our employees, and the entire cold chain in Latin America.
