WW Grainger to open highly automated robotic facility in Oregon
Grainger, a leading broad line distributor of maintenance and repair products serving businesses and institutions, is planning to open a highly automated, 500,000-square-foot distribution center in Gresham, Oregon in 2025. The new Northwest Distribution Center will enhance customer service across the Pacific Northwest, providing the company additional capacity to continue delivering best-in-class, next day complete orders across the United States. Grainger plans to break ground this summer.
"Opening a new, highly automated distribution center ensures we can continue to reach 99 percent of the U.S. market the next day," said Barry Greenhouse, Grainger Senior Vice President and President of Global Supply Chain and Customer Experience. "The Pacific Northwest is a market we've identified as a strategic expansion location to stock many more products than we do today, benefitting more local customers."
Grainger's Northwest Distribution Center is expected to house more than 135,000 industrial supply items such as hand and power tools, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, fluid power solutions, lighting, power transmission equipment, and motors. The company anticipates the new facility will employ approximately 80 team members when complete and over time employ more than 150 people.
The building will be constructed on a vacant 48-acre parcel of land in an industrial area of Gresham, about 16 miles from Portland.
In addition, the company is opening two bulk warehouses in Pennsylvania and Texas in September, plus a third in North Carolina in 2024, to enhance network operations, accommodate a growing product offer and serve more customers.
This new facility is in addition to 10 other DC and branch locations that Grainger currently operates in the U.S. Pacific Northwest states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana.
About Grainger
W. W. Grainger, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 industrial supply company founded in 1927 in Chicago by William W. (Bill) Grainger. He founded the company to provide consumers with access to a consistent supply of motors. The company now serves more than three million customers worldwide[4] with offerings such as motors, lighting, material handling, fasteners, plumbing, tools, and safety supplies, along with inventory management services and technical support. Revenue is generally from business-to-business sales rather than retail sales. Grainger serves its customers through a network of approximately 598 branches, online channels (such as Grainger.com, KeepStock and eProcurement), and 33 distribution centers.
