- Third-party logistics service provider Exel has leased a newly completed 402,500-square-foot spec building to use as the North American distribution center for toy manufacturer Lego Systems. Exel says a key factor in its selection of the facility, which is located at AllianceTexas, a mixed-use development near Fort Worth's Alliance Airport, was its inclusion within the Foreign Trade Zone there. With the addition of the new building, Exel now operates nearly two million square feet of distribution space in the Alliance complex.
- Lowe's, the home improvement retailer, has unveiled plans to retrofit two existing distribution buildings in Stockton, Calif., for retail distribution. The complex, totaling 240,000 square feet, is located at the Port of Stockton, which is the Golden State's largest inland port. Lowe's will receive flatbed building materials from railcars and trucks and then ship these items on flatbeds to about 40 retail stores in Northern California.
- Saddle Creek, a Florida-based company that provides integrated warehousing, transportation, and value-added services, is constructing a new 98,600-square-foot facility on its campus in Lakeland, Fla. The building, which is expected to be completed in August, is being designed as a cross dock facility.
- Kraton Polymers, a global supplier of performance polymer products, has opened a new distribution center in the Waiganoqiao Free Trade Zone in Shanghai, China. The facility will store and distribute styrenic block copolymers and polyisoprene products for customers in the Asia-Pacific region.
- Burton Snowboards is opening a new distribution center in Selkirk, N.Y. World Warehouse and Distribution Inc. will manage the facility for Burton. The building, which was formerly used by Daisytek, measures 350,000 square feet, of which 100,000 square feet are currently being used by another company. Burton will begin by using 75,000 square feet of the facility's remaining space and will then expand operations as warranted.
- Advance Auto Parts is adding distribution capability in the Midwest by opening a new facility in Remington, Ind. The 525,000square-foot building is expected to be open in the summer of 2008 and will create 600 new jobs.
- Newell Rubbermaid, maker of the well-known Rubbermaid plastic products, has signed a 10-year lease with the Southern California Logistics Airport. Rubbermaid will lease a built-to-suit, 407,612-square-foot building at the site to use as a bulk distribution facility for its line of Graco infant products. Rubbermaid, which plans to occupy the building in September, says it may expand the facility up to 600,000 square feet within five years. The Logistics Airport is an 8,500-acre site that has been developed at the former George Air Force Base in Victorville, Calif.
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