Vanderlande has announced the launch of its new manufacturing and distribution center in Acworth, Ga.
The grand opening took place on Wednesday 28 June, although the facility has been fully operational since Monday 19 June.
Vanderlande has invested in this center with a view to reducing lead times and costs for its North American customer base. The new facility is an amalgamation of the company’s manufacturing plants previously located in Calhoun, Ga., and the existing North American distribution center adjacent to the site in Acworth. These two locations separately employed around 25 people, but the manufacturing and distribution center will more than triple that number to between 80 and 100 employees when operating at full capacity.
Vanderlande will manufacture line-sorting technology solutions, as well as bulk conveyors and chutes for the warehousing and parcel markets. In addition the facility will produce baggage conveyor and sortation equipment, carousels and automated passenger checkpoints for the airports market.
“We have adopted a strategy in which we’re balancing global sourcing and local manufacturing to achieve the best solution for our customers,“says Vanderlande’s COO, Gert Bossink. “Opening the new center in the USA fits perfectly with this approach.”
Vanderlande’s President Airports, North America, Nick Porter, added: “The investment in this facility will reduce the total cost of ownership for our customers through shortened lead times, increased flexibility and the agility made possible by producing high-quality products here in Georgia.”
The main North American customers to be serviced by Vanderlande’s manufacturing and distribution center are UPS, FedEx, Amazon and some of North America’s largest airports, including Los Angeles, Chicago O’Hare, Vancouver and Atlanta. The Acworth site will also house the company’s North American spare parts business and act as a distribution point for the continent’s and other global shipments.