SYSCO Selects Contractor for Huge New Distribution Center in Virginia

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Food service industry giant, SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY)(Houston, Texas) has selected a contractor for a huge new distribution center in Front Royal, Virginia.

The site in Warren county Virginia beat out sites in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and West Virginia before the company settled on Front Royal back late last year. The Front Royal redistribution center will serve 14 existing SYSCO distribution centers, which are located in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

The company selected Clayco Construction Company (St Louis, Missouri) as the general contractor for the $53 million project and grading and site work has been on going for the last couple weeks. Bad weather in the area has slowed some construction activity down, but the contractor is still projecting an April 2004 completion.

Plans call for construction of an 800,000 square foot building with 60 percent of the area dedicated to cooler/freezer space and the remaining area to dry storage.

Cold truck and rail docks are also included in the area.

The site located north of Interstate 66 will provide the company with easy access to the interstate and other states being supported by the center. It will also bring about 388 new jobs to the area.

SYSCO Corporation operates 142 locations throughout the United States and portions of Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada. SYSCO's product lines are as diverse as the 46,000 employees who support its daily operations. They include not only the ingredients needed to prepare meals, but also numerous ancillary preparation and serving items for the foodservice industry.