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Emergency Responsiveness

Customer: 
Grocery Retailer

Challenge: 
Customize Warehouse Environment to Meet Unexpected Needs

Murphy Logistics Services: 
Warehousing, Logistics Services, Refrigeration

Solution: 
Create Emergency Refrigeration for an Unrefrigerated Warehouse

Founded in Minneapolis more than 130 years ago, this customer has been a longstanding partner with Murphy Warehouse Company. The customer is a leading provider in the local grocery retail industry and supplies numerous grocery stores in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. Murphy is responsible for storing the company’s ongoing and seasonal finished goods, including Halloween candy.

During one August week a few years ago, Minnesota was experiencing an unexpected and prolonged heat wave. At the time, the local grocery retailer was storing its entire regional Halloween candy supply with Murphy in a non-refrigerated, seasonal-needs warehouse. The sustained high temperatures caused the internal warehouse temperatures to climb well above normal. Murphy received notification at 2:15 p.m. on a Friday afternoon that unless the warehouse temperature was lowered, the entire stock of more than 70 truckloads of candy inventory would melt in the heat. And if the candy spoiled, no replacement candy was available from any national candy suppliers.

With little time to solve the issue, members of the Murphy warehouse team pulled together their resources and created a temporary air conditioning unit using generators, flatbed trucks and temporary piping to cool down 50,000 square feet of candy. By midnight that same day, Murphy had lowered the warehouse temperature to normal and saved the Halloween candy.

The circumstances, although unique, represented business as usual for Murphy and its personnel. With our partner-focused and consistently reliable services, Murphy delivered a customized solution in a timely fashion, helping to ensure a Happy Halloween. We are proud to always rise above challenges, providing exceptional assistance even in unexpected circumstances.