Weis Markets held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 3 to officially open the 210,000-s.f. expansion of its distribution center in Milton, Pennsylvania. The expansion, which brings the distribution center size to 1.3 million s.f., provides additional dairy, deli and cold storage (frozen foods) capacity and further streamlines the growing company’s supply chain, Weis says.
“With this expansion, we’re enhancing the distribution center’s productivity and viability, and we’re improving our company’s competitiveness,” said Jonathan Weis, chairman and CEO. “We plan to continue expanding this distribution center as our company grows, providing new job opportunities for people in the Central Susquehanna Valley.”
The expansion of the distribution center, which supplies 204 Weis Markets in its seven-state market area, allows the stores to carry an increased variety of products on shelves. In 2018, Weis will begin the expansion of the distribution center’s produce storage area.
The upgrade and modernization of the facility comes at a time of record growth for the company, as it expanded its footprint by roughly 25 percent in 2016 with the acquisition of 44 new stores. As a result of this growth, Weis has added 150 full-time jobs at the distribution center, bringing the total number of full-time associates there to 900.
The expansion also helps Weis to realize its mission of reducing its environmental impact. The new expansion includes sustainability measures such as an ammonia refrigeration system, which allows Weis to reduce the usage of refrigerants moving forward. The project also further streamlines the company’s supply chain, allowing the company to reduce diesel fuel usage by more than 23,000 gallons per year.
Weis Markets’ 204 stores are located in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and West Virginia.
