An article published by The Morris Daily Herald in Morris, IL on Wednesday revealed that Grainger, No. 3 on Industrial Distribution's 2014 Big 50 List, is considering Minooka, IL and an unnamed location in South Carolina as prospective expansion locations.
The article states that Grainger's director of real estate and development, Donald Hansen, was the one who named the two locations in competition, and that Grainger is seeking a four-year, 50 percent tax rebate incentive for a proposed 1 million square-foot expansion.
The new building will be between 1 million to 1.3 million square feet and will add at least 130 local employees, with a project start date of 2016 and to be operational in 2018.
“We have 26 locations in Illinois, with Minooka being the largest,” Hansen told the Morris Daily News. “We are a fulfillment center that employs 457 people, with 98 from Grundy County.”
Grainger's current Minooka distribution center, roughly 60 miles Southwest of downtown Chicago, is 1 million square feet. The report said Hansen said the company has existing constraints within the four walls making the expansion necessary for company growth.
Grainger recently purchased 52 acres in Minooka next to its current facility there.
Read our September 2014 Distributor Profile on Grainger's Minooka location here.
Grainger has three locations in South Carolina: West Columbia, North Charleston, and Greenville.
In other industrial distribution news in Minooka, fellow ID Big 50 company Airgas is nearing completion of a new air separation unit in the city, set to go online this summer.
