Crystal Cold began operations in the late 1800’s. The main function of the company at the time, was the harvesting and cutting ice off the Cedar River, for use in the preservation of perishable foods. The J.A. Young family of Waterloo operated several ice houses in the area, and gradually shifted them toward cold storage facilities. In 1979, the Young’s sold the ice and cold storage business to Crystal Cold. At the time, Crystal Ice & Cold Storage, as it was called, operated two buildings with less than 500,000 cubic feet of space.