Its official earthwork begins at the new United Natural Foods (UNFI) jobsite in Sturtevant, WI. The property has officially been secured and ESI is preparing the site for a special groundbreaking ceremony. The new 425,000 square foot distribution center will be UNFI’s first Wisconsin location and will submit to receive LEED® Gold certification as well as create 220 new full-time positions.
United Natural Foods, Inc. is the leading national distributor of natural, organic and specialty foods in North America, and distributes more than 60,000 products to more than 23,000 customer locations. The company serves a wide variety of retail formats including conventional supermarket chains, natural product superstores, independent retail operators and the food service channel. In the Midwest, UNFI now distributes to Whole Foods stores, conventional supermarkets and independents from Iowa City, Iowa, and Greenwood, Indiana. UNFI examined about a dozen potential sites on paper for a new facility; however Sturtevant’s location is ideally situated between Chicago and Milwaukee.
“We feel Wisconsin is the optimal location to expand our facility network and reduce our operating costs, while continuing our commitment to decreasing our carbon footprint,” commented Steve Spinner, President and Chief Executive Officer.
Brad Barke, President of ESI Group states, “ESI is honored to partner with UNFI. Their company vision, mission, and core values are complimentary to ESI’s.” “This facility will utilize the most energy efficient systems available; which will minimize UNFI’s carbon footprint for years to come.”
