South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) officials have been celebrating the newly-expanded New Orleans Cold Storage (NOCS) facility in north Charleston.

Completed in November 2015, the expansion increases the facility's blast freezing capabilities by 50 percent. With the addition of 81,000 square feet, NOCS now offers 136,000 square feet of cold storage.

"We are looking forward to offering even more services to our clients at the port of Charleston, where we have been for almost 30 years," said NOCS president Mark Blanchard. "This expansion will help us continue to be one of the largest logistics and cold storage suppliers to the poultry, pork, beef, seafood, vegetable, and international refrigerated food industries."

Driven by the SCPA's 38 percent growth in refrigerated cargo volumes since 2011, Charleston has attracted significant investments in cold storage over the past year.

"NOCS's expansion is significant to SCPA, especially given the strategic importance of refrigerated cargo to our business," said SCPA president and CEO Jim Newsome.

"The addition of significant local cold storage and freezer space in the Charleston area supports SCPA's continued above-market growth in this sector," he said.