SALISBURY — Delhaize America and Food Lion announced plans today to expand the company’s Dunn distribution center, which was damaged by a tornado in April.
The company plans to add approximately 54,000 square feet to increase storage space for refrigerated and frozen foods, according to a press release.
“Food Lion is proud to expand its business in North Carolina and in the Dunn community,” said Food Lion President Cathy Green Burns.
“Today’s announcement reinforces our commitment to North Carolina and enables us to continue to serve our customers in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states. We look forward to completing this project and establishing a greater presence in North Carolina.”
The expanded refrigerated and frozen section at the facility will provide additional storage for more than 4,000 dairy, meat and frozen food products.
“The expansion of this facility will further support storage capacity for Food Lion grocery stores,” said Gerry Greenleaf, vice president of distribution and transportation for Delhaize America. ”After the devastating tornado that struck North Carolina this spring, we evaluated opportunities to further enhance this facility as part of our rebuilding efforts. As our business grows and storage capacity needs increase, this was the right opportunity to expand this distribution center.”
The distribution center in Dunn first opened in 1987 and services 264 Food Lion stores, primarily located in North Carolina.
More than 700 people work at the Dunn center, which will be about 1.3 million square feet large after the expansion is complete early next year.
On average, the distribution facility ships more than 1.4 million cases of products each week and houses 12,800 items.
After being struck by a tornado in the spring, the company has resumed full grocery operations and is working on the reconstruction of the refrigerated and frozen foods to resume normal operations.
Delhaize America is a leading supermarket operator with more than 1,600 stores in 16 states in the eastern United States. Delhaize America operates under the banners Bloom, Bottom Dollar Food, Food Lion, Harveys, Hannaford Supermarkets, Reid’s and Sweetbay, each of which has a distinct strategy and a well-established brand image.
The Food Lion family of supermarkets, based in Salisbury, operates more than 1,100 supermarkets, either directly or through affiliated entities, under the names of Food Lion, Harveys or Reid’s.The company employs approximately 62,500 people in 11 Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states.