HAMLET, Ind. and HOUSTON, March 13, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY), North America's largest foodservice marketer and distributor, and the Starke County Development Foundation, announced today that they purchased land in Hamlet, Indiana for SYSCO's Midwest Cooperative Redistribution Center (RDC). This RDC is expected to create approximately 500 new jobs in the process.
SYSCO's affiliate, Baugh Midwest Cooperative, purchased 320 acres for its RDC and the Starke County Development Foundation purchased 24 acres to construct infrastructure. Onsite construction is expected to begin this summer and should require approximately 12-18 months to complete.
The approximately 700,000-square-foot operation will include freezer, refrigeration and dry storage, office space and a truck maintenance facility. Once the RDC is operational, it will begin supplying products to SYSCO's operating companies in the Midwest Region.
Starke County and the Starke County Development Foundation will provide infrastructure including roadway improvements, rail-spur, and water and sewer extensions, by using grants from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation Development Grant Fund, the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs Economic Development Block Grant Program, the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Commission Grant Fund, Tax Incremental Financing Bonds and County Economic Development Income Tax to fund the infrastructure. Following construction, the water and sewer improvements will be owned and operated by the Town of Hamlet.
The RDC is the third site location of several facilities planned throughout the United States as part of SYSCO's Supply Chain Initiative. The first RDC, which began shipping products in February 2005, is located in Front Royal, Virginia and services 14 of SYSCO's broadline distribution companies in the Northeast Region. SYSCO's second RDC in Alachua, Florida, which is currently under construction, is expected to supply broadline operations in the Southeast Region.
SYSCO is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Its family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries. For the calendar year 2006, the company generated $33.9 billion in sales. For more information about SYSCO visit www.sysco.com.
The Starke County Development Foundation is a not-for-profit local economic development organization (LEDO) providing economic development opportunities on behalf of Starke County, Indiana, the City of Knox, and the Towns of North Judson and Hamlet through the development of industrial parks, rail spurs, greenfield sites, shovel-ready sites, infrastructure and workforce development. For more information regarding Starke County Development Foundation, visit www.starkecounty.com.
As a result of legislation passed by the Indiana General Assembly in Feb. 2005, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) replaced the Department of Commerce as the premier entity charged with state economic development. The IEDC has a 12-member board chaired by Gov. Mitch Daniels. For more information about IEDC, please visit www.iedc.IN.gov.
The SYSCO Corporation logo is available at http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=747
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made herein are forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. They include statements regarding the timing and anticipated benefits of SYSCO's national supply chain project and regional redistribution facilities, industry growth and employment growth. These statements involve risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations and SYSCO's management's estimates; actual results may differ materially. Those risks and uncertainties that could impact these statements include the risks relating to the foodservice distribution industry's relatively low profit margins and sensitivity to economic conditions, SYSCO's leverage and debt risks, the risk of exposure to product liability claims, the risk of interruption of supplies due to lack of long-term contracts, severe weather, work stoppages or otherwise, construction timetables, SYSCO's management's allocation of capital and the timing of capital purchases, and the ability to control expenses. For a discussion of additional factors that could cause actual results to differ from those described in the forward-looking statements, see SYSCO's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 30, 2006 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.