On October 4th, 2024, the Jenson family embarked on an exciting new entrepreneurial journey as
they broke ground for their new 420,000 square foot cold storage facility in Nephi, Utah.
Refrigeration is nothing new to the Jenson family. Ken Jenson, founder and CEO of Jenson
Refrigeration Inc., is the third has been an expert in the industry for over 40 years. Since the
establishment of Jenson Refrigeration Inc. in 1990, he has built a full-service facility maintenance
company, Jenson Companies, with divisions specializing in the service of Refrigeration, HVAC,
Foodservice Equipment, Lighting, Electrical, Signs, and Crane operating. Justin Jenson, son and
President of Jenson Refrigeration Inc., and Jaks Olsen, son-in-law and Vice-President, are excited to
be the fourth generation overseeing the expansion of the Jenson brand into cold storage and into
Nephi.
This project has proven to be a big undertaking, especially when faced with hurdles such as Covid,
supply chain issues, increasing interest rates, and historic hyperinflation. But the Jenson’s are
continuing to forge the way in order to provide a much-needed resource for the local community as
well as the entire state of Utah. As of now, the majority of the surrounding poultry, cattle, and dairy
industries in Utah are having to ship their products out of state for temperature-controlled
warehousing. The number of existing facilities in Utah is limited, especially in the southern half of
the Wasatch Front. Even if there is a facility nearby, the probability that they have space available is
even more slim. Jenson Cold Storage, providing over 15 million cubic feet of storage space, will
satisfy the demand and help local farmers and businesses to keep their products local.
The groundbreaking drew the community together with optimism as they look forward to the future
home of Jenson Cold Storage. Jenna Draper, over Economic Development for Six Counties
Association of Governments, spoke at the event saying,
“This project is going to do a lot of that for
the economy in Juab County as well as throughout the Six County region. By having cold storage
here, we are going to have meat processors, cheese processors, people that we hadn’t ever
considered, bring their products here instead of paying enormous shipping and freight rates to
move product to the consumers. This is just a part, but a very large part, of the mission that Six
County has to bring the economy back from the pandemic and the challenges that were endemic
for this rural area. This will serve as a great place with its proximity to the urban areas, while serving
as a link to bring the rural areas closer as well.”
Brent Boswell, Juab County Economic Developer, commented on how promising this project is,
with construction already heavily underway. While the community was gathering to celebrate the
ceremonial groundbreaking, they are also here observing massive dozers move dirt in the
background of the site. Brent was also elated to report the sense of community that has evolved
with this project. “So many have had to come together for this: city, county, Six County, and the
state. We have federal people here today. It really does take a village. This is an example of how
America can keep going in these times of craziness like we are going through right now.”
The excitement continued while each member of the Jenson family, including the 8 young children
that make up the fifth generation of the family business, donned their hard hats and moved the dirt
with their gold shovels. Next, the municipal and state officials came together, including Nephi City
Mayor, Justin Seeley, and Councilmen; Juab County Commissioners, Richard Hanson and Marvin
Kennison; Senator Derrin Owens; Chris Coombs with Senator Mike Lee’s Office; and Daniel Royal
with the Governor’s Office.
This construction project, under the direction of Boyd Martin Construction and funded by Cache
Valley Bank, will consist of six phases, with 70,000 square feet per phase. The first phase will be
complete by Fall of 2023, with the next five phases complete by 2030. Once fully operational, the
business will employ around 100 people. Having that many additional jobs is monumental for
Nephi city with the small population of 6200.
