By MADELAINE B. MIRAFLOR Business magnate Michael Cosiquien’s ORCA Cold Chain Solutions has opened the first ever fully automated cold storage facility in the Philippines, which will be able to cater to food and agriculture products. Located in Taguig, this multi-billion-peso features a high bay storage racking structure that is equipped with an Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) and a Warehouse Management System (WMS). Both technologies allow increased efficiency in the storage and retrieval of pallets in the facility, while ensuring minimal human interaction in order to limit pilferage, contamination and spoilage. “The Philippines is a very rich country. We are bountiful on all agricultural fronts, from land to water. And yet, a lot of Filipinos remain hungry or cannot have the freshest food possible. We have a lot of untapped potential to be world-class as a food-producing and food-making country. And all of these have motivated us in investing and putting up this state-of-the-art facility,” said ISOC Cold Chain President and Chief Executive Officer Yerik Cosiquien. “We are proud to bring ASRS into our shores, the technology has been present in our Southeast Asian neighbors and in the most advanced countries of the world. This is an achievement not just for ORCA, but for the country,” he added. ORCA Cold Chain is a subsidiary of ISOC Holdings, Inc., the holding firm of Cosiquien that is involved in construction and logistics. Jesus Chua Jr., ISOC Holdings Group President, emphasized that ORCA Taguig is a 14-story building and has a capacity of 20,000 pallets, which makes it bigger than any other cold chain facilities in the country. He also noted that ORCA Taguig, awarded pioneer status by the Board of Investments (BOI), is the only cold storage facility vying for a Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) certification. During the inauguration of the facility, BOI Managing Head and Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo said the facility addresses growing food consumption and the demand for reliable cold chain logistics service in the country. ORCA Taguig is registered under the Preferred Activities – Infrastructure and Logistics including LGU PPPs of the Investment Promotion Plan (IPP). It was in some time in 2018 when ORCA opened its first facility, which is located in Alabang. Such facility has a capacity of only 6189 pallets that are meant for fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, and seafood. At the time of its opening, the company’s founder, Michael Cosiquien, said he is looking to build more facilities in Luzon and Visayas.