Wegmans' New Distribution Center Begins First Shipments
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Wegmans Food Markets recently began shipping its first deliveries of fresh produce from its new distribution center located near Pottsville, Pa., according to a story posted on the Rochester, N.Y.-based retailer's Web site.
The 100,000-square-foot produce facility marks the completion of the first phase of the grocery chain's new distribution center complex that will service Wegmans' stores in Syracuse, Southern New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Northern Virginia, as well as the retail pioneer's first Baltimore area unit in Hunt Valley, Md. next summer.
Situated on a 117-acre site in the Highridge Business Park off of Exit 35 on Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County, the site is an ideal location for the new distribution hub, according to Wegmans, because of the extensive interstate highway system and closeness to eastern population centers.
With produce shipments now underway, deliveries from the next phase -- a 300,000-square-foot dry grocery area -- are expected to begin a year and a half from now. By 2007, other phases are expected to ensue on the site to bring the number of jobs to 500, according to Wegmans.
The new distribution center is the second one for the company, which also operates one in Rochester.
Wegmans' s.v.p. of consumer affairs, Mary Ellen Burris, who writes related articles on the Web site, said creating the new distribution center "has been one big job! The builders moved mountains of dirt and stones, and even saved the stones to create an impressive entry to spaces very important in Wegmans history...only the second distribution center built since our company began in 1916."
The 100,000-square-foot produce facility marks the completion of the first phase of the grocery chain's new distribution center complex that will service Wegmans' stores in Syracuse, Southern New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Northern Virginia, as well as the retail pioneer's first Baltimore area unit in Hunt Valley, Md. next summer.
Situated on a 117-acre site in the Highridge Business Park off of Exit 35 on Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County, the site is an ideal location for the new distribution hub, according to Wegmans, because of the extensive interstate highway system and closeness to eastern population centers.
With produce shipments now underway, deliveries from the next phase -- a 300,000-square-foot dry grocery area -- are expected to begin a year and a half from now. By 2007, other phases are expected to ensue on the site to bring the number of jobs to 500, according to Wegmans.
The new distribution center is the second one for the company, which also operates one in Rochester.
Wegmans' s.v.p. of consumer affairs, Mary Ellen Burris, who writes related articles on the Web site, said creating the new distribution center "has been one big job! The builders moved mountains of dirt and stones, and even saved the stones to create an impressive entry to spaces very important in Wegmans history...only the second distribution center built since our company began in 1916."