Opening Day Arrives for Sheetz N.C. Distribution Center
BURLINGTON, N.C. — Sheetz Inc. has taken the wraps off its new distribution center in North Carolina.
Executives with the convenience store chain were on hand Nov. 12 to cut the ribbon on the 250,000-square-foot distribution and kitchen facility in Burlington, according to the Triad Business Journal.
The facility, which was completed by Greensboro, N.C.-based Samet Corp., began hiring employees last month. Ray Ryan, executive vice president of distribution services for Sheetz, said the facility has about 100 employees now and the building represents a $50-million investment.
Sheetz expects to have 230 employees at the new facility by the end of February. The facility houses a Sheetz Bros. Kitchen bakery, distribution and warehousing center for the Sheetz distribution fleet, and serves as the main terminal for Sheetz' fuel carrier CLI Transport, as CSNews Online previously reported.
"We are pleased to call Burlington home to our Distribution Center. Burlington and the surrounding communities have embraced Sheetz and we are honored to be a part of this community," said CEO Joe Sheetz. "We were strategic with picking this location because of the convenient access to highway and workforce; it will allow us to provide the freshest and best quality products to our friends in the South. Sheetz' focus is to grow our food and beverage business and this facility is necessary to accomplish this goal."
The Burlington distribution center will serve Sheetz stores in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. The first shipment is scheduled to go out Dec. 9.
Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz operates more than 450 convenience stores in six states.
"The future of Sheetz' business is on food and beverage; a location like Burlington will help serve the southern region more efficiently. This facility will enable us to better serve our customers and continue to expand our offerings in our stores in North Carolina, southern West Virginia and southern Virginia. The state-of-the-art distribution center has created over 250 new jobs in North Carolina and has provided an economic boost to the community," Joe Sheetz added.
The retailer first announced in 2011 that it was looking to build a second distribution center that would be easily accessible to North Carolina's Triangle and Triad areas as it began expanding in the North Carolina market. The company selected the 44-acre site at 1737 Whites Kennel Road in Burlington in September 2012 and broke ground on July 10, 2013.