On the heels of a record year in sales and volume, Orgill announced plans to nearly double the size of its Hurricane, Utah, distribution. The previously announced distribution center in Rome, N.Y. is currently receiving product and is just months away from being fully operational, according to the company.
“With the new 900,000-square-foot facility in Rome coming online and the expansion at our Hurricane distribution center, we will have nearly 6 million square feet of warehouse space in North America available to us,” Randy Williams, Orgill’s executive vice president of distribution, said in a news release. “This is a testament to the growth our customers’ operations have experienced in recent years, and it is also a testament to our commitment to invest in our logistics network to keep pace with our customers’ needs.”
Orgill said the decision to expand the Hurricane distribution center was primarily driven by the growth of Orgill’s customer base in the western United States. The expansion includes the addition of more than 425,000 square feet of under-roof space in Hurricane. Orgill said steps will also be taken to modernize the facility, including the relocation of the shipping and receiving areas to create better flow-through of product and the addition of more narrow aisle racking that allows for stocking of greater product volume.
Orgill’s Hurricane facility currently services customers in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, and portions of Idaho, Nebraska, and New Mexico. Construction on the facility is scheduled to begin in the coming weeks and the company estimates the project will take 12-18 months to complete.
Including Rome and Hurricane, Orgill operates eight distribution centers in Tifton, Ga., Inwood, W.V., Sikeston, Mo., Kilgore, Texas, Post Falls, Idaho, and London, Ontario.
In addition to the investments in distribution centers, Orgill continues to look for ways to modernize its overall logistics operations, including upgrading and expanding its trucking fleet.
“About two years ago, we made the commitment to upgrade our fleet and partnered with Ryder for all of our power equipment and today, about 75% of our trucks are less than two years old,” Tom Liddy, director of fleet safety and services, said. “And with the increase in business we have seen over the last year, just since October we have added 60 new trucks to our fleet and an additional 200 trailers.”
Liddy said Orgill has invested in dashcams for drivers and technology such as collision avoidance, roll safety, and lane departure systems. The company has also partnered to create a positioning system that integrates with a customer-facing app so customers can track their orders in real time.
Collierville, Tenn.-based Orgill is a hardlines distributor serving more than 11,000 retail hardware stores, home centers, professional lumber dealers, and farm stores throughout the U.S. and Canada.
