GIAS and Lyto’s: a strategic partnership for cold-chain logistics

One of Southern Italy’s most important cold-chain logistics hubs is taking shape in Mongrassano: an automated warehouse designed to strengthen GIAS’s internal and external logistics, optimise the handling of frozen products, and ensure operational continuity even at -25 °C.

For GIAS, in the province of Cosenza, Lyto’s contributed to the development of a new strategic infrastructure for cold-chain logistics: an automated self-supporting refrigerated warehouse.
The project covers a total area of 15,000 square metres, including an automated warehouse of almost 4,000 square metres, approximately 40 metres high, with storage capacity for up to 26,000 pallets, compared with around 15,000 previously available. Operating at -25 °C, and complemented by the new dispatch area and the tunnel connecting it to production, the facility is now one of the most important cold-chain logistics hubs in Southern Italy.

Within this project, Lyto’s delivered the self-supporting racking structure, the hot-dip galvanised steel staircase, and the tunnel dedicated to moving load units into and out of the warehouse, helping ensure operational continuity and seamless integration between production, storage, and dispatch.

We discussed the project with Luigi De Bartolo, manager of the GIAS plant in Cosenza, who shared the needs that led to the investment, the collaboration journey with Lyto’s, and the strategic value of the new infrastructure.

“The investment was driven by the need to optimise and strengthen the company’s internal and external logistics, improving the connection between production, warehouse operations, and dispatch,” says De Bartolo.
GIAS wanted to automate the flow of load units between production and the warehouse, reducing the need for external storage facilities and the related transport costs. The new system also enables more efficient management of frozen semi-finished and finished products, optimising available space, picking and dispatch activities, inventory monitoring, expiry dates, and product traceability.

“GIAS quickly understood that Lyto’s was a reliable partner, not just a supplier,” De Bartolo emphasises. “The Lyto’s team played an active role throughout the plant design phases, supporting us in our technical choices and making a decisive contribution to meeting the planned schedule.”

For us, these words are an important confirmation of the value we strive to bring to every project: not merely a technical supply, but a design and operational contribution built on listening to the customer’s needs, on the expertise of our people, and on our ability to operate in complex environments.
The collaboration proved particularly valuable during the design variation phases and in monitoring work progress. The support of our structural engineers and project manager helped maintain control over the implementation timeline and bring the project to completion according to the planned schedule, in just six months.

“For us at GIAS, this is the right path to remain competitive and meet the challenges of an increasingly demanding market,” De Bartolo concludes.

For Lyto’s, having contributed to the development of such a strategic infrastructure confirms the value of a collaboration based on trust, technical expertise, and the ability to turn a logistics challenge into a tangible solution for the future.