PITTSBURGH โ The Kraft Heinz Co. said it will invest more than $400 million to build a 775,000-square-foot national distribution plant in DeKalb, Ill. The facility is expected to be one of the largest automated consumer packaged goods distribution centers in North America.
The distribution center will feature state-of-the-art automation technology and national railway access, which the company said will drive greater supply chain efficiencies and distribute its products to retail and foodservice customers โfaster than ever.โ
โAs we continue on our journey to lead the future of food, our talented North America teams and collaborative external partners are innovating at a rapid pace to expand our supply chain capabilities,โ said Carlos Abrams-Rivera, executive vice president and president, North America at Kraft Heinz. โThe DeKalb distribution center is expected to play a critical role in our larger distribution strategy, moving more than 60% of Kraft Heinz dry goods in North America through our automated facilities. Itโs a testament to the dynamic, out-of-the-box thinking of our supply chain teams whose work enables us to operate with greater efficiency and agility every day.โ
The facility will include a 24/7 automated storage and retrieval system, which Kraft Heinz expects to drive twice the volume for its customers. The system will be able to distribute more than 60% of the companyโs foodservice business and approximately 30% of all dry goods, Kraft Heinz said.
In addition, the facility will include sustainability features geared toward reducing the companyโs operational environmental footprint, Kraft Heinz said.
โWeโre driving end-to-end transformation across our entire supply chain, investing in automated technology and digitized solutions to increase the agility of our logistics operations,โ said Erin Mitchell, vice president of logistics and head of network restructuring at Kraft Heinz. โThe construction of our new DeKalb distribution center is the latest example of this transformation in action. We have designed it to help ensure the delivery of our delicious, innovative and iconic products at the right time for our customers and consumers for years to come.โ
