Northland Cold Storage, Inc. was founded as Northland Terminal & Storage in 1957. Alvin Pokel Sr. operated an ice and coal delivery business in Plymouth, WI in the 1940's. With the advent of commercial ice making machines and the refrigerator replacing the standard ice boxes, Al had to find a new use for his storage buildings. Pokel received one of the precious few permits from the US government to expand his business during World War II because the dairy industry needed ice to refrigerate cheese going to the armed forces. After the war the dairy industry focused on domestic demand. Ice was no longer needed, but storage facilities were. Al converted his ice facility to a cheese storage operation, storing products for companies like Kraft and Borden's. Today the fourth generation of the Pokel family manages the operations in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Northland Cold Storage offers primarily frozen storage and fulfillment and also operates Northland Freight Services, offering truckload and less-than-truckload delivery within the continental United States.