U.S. Foodservice Embarks on $33 Million Expansion

U.S. Foodservice broke ground Friday to expand its Port Orange, Fla., division’s food distribution center to 409,000 square feet, which should facilitate the ongoing growth of the company’s central Florida distribution business. The $33 million expansion project is expected to be completed by July 2011.

Once the expansion is complete, the company will close its location in nearby Ormond Beach, and the over 330 employees now working there will transfer the new facility, for a combined workforce of more than 500. The consolidation will make Port Orange the hub of U.S. Foodservice’s central Florida business, which serves almost 5,000 restaurants, health care facilities, hotels, schools and government agencies throughout the state, southeast Georgia and southern Alabama.

“Our business is growing, and we need more space to serve customers,” noted U.S. Foodservice-Port Orange president Pat Kelly. “The expanded facility will enable us to respond more efficiently to our customers’ needs while serving a growing market from a modern and strategically located distribution center.”

Despite two previous expansions, the company had exhausted capacity at the Ormond Beach facility, according to Kelly but the 60-acre Port Orange site affords plenty of space for growth. The expanded facility will feature capacity for 14,000 fresh, frozen, nonperishable and nonfood products; 127,000 square feet of freezer space; 48,000 square feet of refrigerated space; 155,000 square feet of dry storage space; and 51 loading docks.

Kelly said the consolidated facility would offer such cutting-edge food storage technology as one of the largest private refrigerated transport fleets in Florida, in addition to motion-activated and energy-efficient lighting to lower energy consumption. He added that serving the region from a single location would enable the company to lessen the impact to the environment while boosting efficiency and enhancing customer service.

Employing 25,000 associates in more than 60 locations across the nation, Rosemont, Ill.-based U.S. Foodservice is offers over 43,000 national, private label and signature-brand items, as well as a variety of services, to more than 250,000 customers.