Gordon Food Service today announced plans to build three new distribution centers. The company will break ground on a 100,000-square-foot distribution center in Wyoming, MI this summer. This facility is expected to be operational in spring, 2014.
A 260,000-square-foot facility will be built near Atlanta, GA in the Riverside West Business Park in Douglasville, GA. Construction will begin this summer and the facility is expected to be operational in summer, 2014. The Atlanta-area distribution center will employ approximately 200 within three years.
The third facility to be built is a 420,000-square-foot facility in the greater Pittsburgh, PA area. Construction for this facility will also begin this fall and is expected to be operational in spring, 2015. The Pittsburgh-area facility will employ approximately 300 within three to five years.
In addition to adding these three new facilities to its U.S. distribution network, the company also announced plans to consolidate warehouse operations from two existing facilities.
The 114,000-square-foot Ocala, FL facility will be consolidated into the company’s Plant City, FL distribution center. Gordon Food Service purchased the one million-square-foot Plant City facility in January, 2010. After considerable analysis, the company determined that consolidating these two facilities is the best way to serve its customers in the region as efficiently and effectively as possible. Gordon Food Service employees impacted by this change will be offered positions at the Plant City facility. The transition from Ocala to Plant City is expected to be complete by late fall, 2013.
Upon completion of the new Atlanta-area facility, the company will consolidate the warehouse operations of its 110,000-square-foot Greenville, SC facility into the new facility. The Greenville, SC facility is operating at maximum capacity and the company has determined it is necessary to expand its distribution network in this region. Due to the proximity of customers in that region, it was determined that the Atlanta area would be the best location to meet the needs of the company’s growing customer base in the southeast. Gordon Food Service employees impacted by this change will be offered opportunities at the new facility. This transition is expected to be complete by fall, 2014.
“We have been studying our distribution network in the United States intensively for several months. The decisions we are making now are critical to maintaining and strengthening our ability to support our current customers and long-term growth,” said Tony Groll, President of Gordon Food Service, U.S. “We are excited about the growth opportunities the new facilities will generate but regret the impact the consolidation of the Ocala and Greenville facilities will have on the affected employees, their families, and the communities where they reside. We are hopeful that our current team members impacted by these changes will take advantage of new opportunities within the company and the incentives we will offer to help them stay with us.”
About Gordon Food Service
Since 1897, the people of Gordon Food Service have been committed to delivering uncompromising quality, outstanding value and exceptional customer service. What began as a simple butter-and-egg delivery service is today North America’s largest family-owned and managed broadline foodservice distributor. Gordon Food Service distributes to foodservice operators within the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast regions of the United States and coast-to-coast in Canada. The company also operates more than 155 GFS Marketplace retail stores in the U.S. which are open to the public and provide the benefits of restaurant-quality products and friendly, knowledgeable service without a membership fee.
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