FINDLAY, Ohio -- McLane Co. Inc. has opened a new $150 million, 417,338-square-foot grocery distribution center in Findlay, Ohio. The new distribution center will store about 16,000 grocery and convenience-store items. Ohio Gov. John Kasich presided over a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new facility on Dec. 1.
During a speech at the ceremony, Kasich applauded McLane’s decision to locate in Ohio, touching on some of McLane’s inclusive hiring policies: “That is a huge, huge deal, when we’re giving everybody a chance.”
Click through to see more photos from the event and to read more about the new distribution facility's attributes ...
“Of our 80 grocery and foodservice distribution centers nationwide, the Findlay facility is the most technologically advanced, combining teammates, state-of-the-art automation, advanced robotics and artificial intelligence,” said Tony Frankenberger, president of McLane Grocery (pictured above, right).
The Findlay distribution center will employ 400 to 500 people in Ohio. Through the facility, McLane Co. will deliver more than 325,000 picks of items per day at peak operation.
The distribution center will store about 16,000 grocery and convenience-store items representing more than 700 suppliers, a number that will grow in 2018, according to the company. Robots use barcodes on the products to store and transfer pallets of goods, traveling up to 60 mph to fulfill orders. McLane teammates help control and program the robots and load and organize products into bins based on the products’ final destinations.
Products out of the Findlay facility will be delivered to convenience stores, mass merchants, warehouse clubs and drug stores in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Pennsylvania. McLane is committed to hiring Ohioans and contributing to the Findlay and Ohio economy, the company said. Teammates are relocating to Findlay from Toledo and Lima, Ohio, Indianapolis, and Detroit to work at the center. In addition, McLane has hired more than 95 truck drivers, with plans to hire 75 more.
“There is an outstanding culture providing a strong workforce place here in Findlay in Hancock County and, when I say strong, I mean that in the sense of commitment, respect and teamwork,” said Julie Norris, division president, McLane Grocery Distribution.
Temple, Texas-based McLane Co. is one of the largest supply-chain-services leaders in the United States, providing grocery and foodservice supply-chain solutions for convenience stores, mass merchants, drug stores and chain restaurants. McLane, through McLane Grocery and McLane Foodservice, operates more than 80 distribution centers across the United States and one of the nation’s largest private fleets.
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