Building the Very Best

2025 Built by the Best Award honorees set the standard for specialized, complex construction.

This November, attendees of the Controlled Environment Building Association’s (CEBA) annual conference and expo celebrated the announcement of Built by the Best finalists and winners – a culmination of a year-long campaign and application process for the organization’s premier honors for temperature-controlled facilities.

The 2025 Built by the Best Award was the definitive award for innovative controlled-environment construction projects throughout the world. Out of all the impressive submissions, four projects were selected as finalists for the award. Recognition with a Built by the Best Award represents leadership in design and construction of temperature-controlled facilities, built to the highest standards, including quality, sustainability, and safety. After hearing from finalists during the “Innovations in Controlled Environment Construction” panel and watching finalist and honorable mention videos presented at registration, more than 500 conference attendees in Las Vegas learned even more about the finalists during the closing session prior to the announcement of the winners on November 5.

This year’s winners are: Sadel Group’s Magnavale Easton cold storage facility in Grantham, United Kingdom; and Griffco Design/Build’s Scout Cold Logistics project in Lancaster, Texas, United States.

New Benchmarks in Warehouse Construction

Sadel Group won in the “Controlled Environment, Cold Storage & Distribution Warehouses” category for its Magnavale Easton project, which has set a new benchmark in Europe for automated frozen storage combining speed, precision, flexibility, operational efficiency, and safety. This project has delivered an advanced cold chain facility, with a fully automated high-bay frozen warehouse at -18°C with 101,000 pallet capacity, including over-height positions.

Innovative design and automation features include ASRS with dual monorails and 3,000m of conveyors across three floors. The facility also benefits from a bespoke control system to ensure uninterrupted flow and a 3.5 MW two-stage refrigeration system to maintain precise temperatures across multiple zones.

Andrew Lawrence, Director of Sadel Group, says, “We are incredibly proud to receive this award, which recognizes the dedication, innovation, and collaboration of everyone involved in developing the Magnavale Easton cold store facility, here in the United Kingdom. This project represents years of commitment to pushing the boundaries of cold-storage design, resulting in the most advanced high-bay frozen warehouse of its kind. Our team, along with our trusted partners, has set a new benchmark for efficiency, sustainability, and performance in the sector.”

Innovating ‘Box in a Box’

Griffco Design/Build, Inc. won the “Special Works” category for its Scout Cold Logistics project in Lancaster, Texas, where it met the considerable challenge of delivering an 88,115-square-foot box-in-box cold storage buildout within a 551,000-squarefoot warehouse to support a global meal kit brand.

Special features of the facility include multiple temperature zones, separate high- and low-care areas, and three occupancy types. An innovative design incorporates BIM and digital twin modeling, enabling clash detection and 3D visualization. A unique fire code requires a custom smoke/heat system, while extended permitting and rock obstructions were successfully met while staying on time and budget. Sustainability credentials were supported with freon-based split refrigeration, enhanced drainage, and reinforced structure for expansion.

“We are honored to be named CEBA’s first Built By the Best Award winner in the Special Works Projects category for Scout Cold Logistics’ box-in-box expansion in Lancaster, Texas,” says Scott Griffin, Founder & CEO, Griffco Design/Build Inc. “Delivering this complex project on time and within budget was a true team effort, and we appreciate CEBA’s commitment to recognizing innovation and excellence in the Controlled Environment industry.”

2025 Built by the Best Award Finalists

In addition to the category winners, a selection of entrants was shortlisted as Built by the Best Award Finalists or given Honorable Mentions. These projects include:

Ti Cold | Banks Cold Storage 

Ti Cold for its Banks Cold Storage project in Commerce, Georgia (United States) is a scalable, efficient, sustainable, and resilient 210,000 square-foot facility, setting a benchmark for innovation and supply chain advancement. The Banks Cold Storage construction project overcame rocky terrain and 70 weather-impacted days without delay, and the local contractor engaged with Second Chance Employee Program to provide workforce re-entry opportunities.

Greek Design | Ocean Kingdom

Greek Design/Build for its Ocean Kingdom project in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States) expanded cold storage capacity under budget, enhancing Ocean Kingdom’s seafood distribution with direct access to I-95 and Philadelphia International Airport. This project was completed even with challenges like a tight urban site, subsurface obstructions, and FAA crane-height limits – all overcome through careful sequencing, structural tie-ins, and rammed aggregate piers.

2025 Honorable Mentions

Carroll Daniel Construction Company for its Eskimo Cold Storage Project in Gainesville, Georgia (United States)

Cold Solutions Services East Africa Limited for its facility in Ruiru, Kiambu County (Kenya)

Coldbox Builders Inc. for its Arla Foods/ Condor Properties project in Vaughan, Ontario (Canada)

Consolidated Construction Co., Inc. for its Midwest Refrigerated Services project in Belvidere, Illinois (United States)

Fisher Construction Group for its Simplot Freezer project in Rainier, Washington (United States)

Greek Design/Build for its RL Cold & BGO project in Mount Laurel, New Jersey (United States)

Primus Builders, Inc. for its Arcadia Cold Storage & Logistics/Saxum Real Estate project in Jacksonville, Florida (United States)

Awards like Built by the Best are not possible without measured, unbiased judging panels. In 2025, this included the service of Tim Nguyen, SubZero Constructors, Joris Olbrecht, Jogrex & Jodifrost, and Kent Johnson, CMC Design-Build. The 2025 Built by the Best Award once again underscored the extraordinary vision, technical expertise, and collaborative spirit driving the cold chain forward. From fully automated warehouses to complex box-in-box facilities, this year’s honorees demonstrated how innovative design and disciplined execution can redefine what is possible in temperature-controlled construction.

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