A new perishables distribution center is now up and running for The Kroger Co. in Michigan.
Opened yesterday in Romulus, Mich., by Penske Logistics, the 606,000-square-foot freezer/cooler distribution center was built to supply Kroger's 120 Michigan stores with fresh, frozen and other refrigerated foods.
The Penske facility will supply fresh and frozen products to Kroger's 120 Michigan stores. (Photo: Penske Logistics)
The Penske facility, dubbed the Michigan Fresh Center, houses 105 loading docks, -20°F freezers, 35°F coolers and an ambient temperature section. The distribution center also has “ample space” for commercial semi-trucks and trailers, the Reading, Pa.-based supply chain management and logistics firm said.
Kroger’s Novi-based Michigan division has 18,000 employees and also operates a dairy, 102 pharmacies and 78 fuel centers.
"The new Michigan Fresh Center brings greater convenience to The Kroger Co. of Michigan and enables us to supply store locations with fresher product every day," Rachel Hurst, corporate affairs manager for Kroger Michigan, said in a statement. "All products housed in the new distribution center are Kroger products, and the facility will only service Kroger's Michigan division."
Construction of the $98.5 million distribution center started in the fall of 2017 and was completed last fall, according to Penske. The company said local, on-site Penske Logistics management and workers were then hired as food and beverage products were moved into the facility. The project brings more than 400 new jobs to the region.
Penske added that it provides Kroger with similar warehousing and distribution center management and trucking services at other locations around the country.
"Our new distribution center to serve Kroger's needs is fully operational," said Penske Logistics President Marc Althen. "We are dedicated to providing customers with the state-of-the-art facilities they need to serve their own customers."
