Saturday, Sep. 03, 2011

State-of-the-art warehouse in Patterson brings work to valley

By Marijke Rowland

But amid the fresh paint and new furnishings already bustles a state-of-the-art, $50 million, 820,000-square-foot distribution center. Two years in the making, the complex has 125 employees and will add 42 starting next week.

Many Central Valley officials hope it is the start of a logistics boom in the area that will bring more jobs to a region hard-hit by economic downturn. Stanislaus County's unemployment rate hit 17.5 percent in July.

Chris McFarland, the plant's director of distribution, said providing new jobs in the area is one of the best things about opening the facility.

"That's really what it's all about," McFarland said. "Other than the fact that you can't hire all of them, it's about bringing jobs to the area and we're thrilled to be able to do that here."

The first wave of workers was hired in April, when construction on the massive center wasn't complete. Then the second wave came in June. Almost all of the positions are warehouse jobs, with a management and administrative staff of about 25.

The facility is still in the stocking phase and finishing the last 10 percent to 20 percent of construction. Workers are receiving and stocking inventory in the complex's huge warehouse. Some 60,000 items are already housed there, and eventually it will hold more than 350,000 different products.

Grainger specializes in facility management, which means it sells everything from drill bits, light bulbs, toilet paper and trash bins to copy paper, staplers, air compressors and sledge hammers. It even stocks coffee and tea.

"We have anything to keep a facility running," McFarland said. "We sell so many products, I'm amazed myself. I'll walk through the aisles and say, 'We sell this, really?' "

The international Fortune 500 company is headquartered in Illinois. It works with more than 2 million businesses in 157 countries and has about 18,500 employees. In 2010 its sales topped $7.2 billion.

4 miles of conveyor belts

Much of the Patterson warehouse floor is split into three levels, rising almost to the top of its 35-foot ceilings. Everything is organized for efficiency. Products are stocked in rows of racks filled with bins of all shapes and sizes.

Larger items are stored on enormous racks on the warehouse floor, where forklifts run back and forth through the aisles on guided wires to fetch and stock the oversized inventory.

Some four miles of conveyor belts crisscross the center, with tight spiral conveyors carrying items from floor to floor.

Everything is automated, with scanners and digital eyes reading bar codes to get the items to the right place and ensure the system is running smoothly. Workers wear wrist-mounted scanners with on-board computer screens and bar-code readers on their fingertips.

"Everything is done to make (the center) as efficient as possible," said JP Clark, Grainger's U.S. business communications manager. "The fewer steps they have to make, the faster we can get the product to the customer."

In October, the center will begin a test-run of its outbound shipping process, with around-the-clock operations to start by the end of the year.

Delhi resident Gregorio Zepeda, who was hired to work in the warehouse in April, said he was attracted to the company's philosophy and opportunities for advancement.

"When you work at a start-up facility like this, it instills a sense of ownership," Zepeda said. "There's more opportunity. It's a career, not just a job."

Grainger opened up its hiring in March and in a 24-hour window received more than 500 applications for the first 45 jobs.

McFarland said despite the Central Valley's reputation of having a less skilled labor force than other regions, Grainger had no problem filling its positions.

"We were very happy with the applicant pool," he said. "The interest was so strong, and we didn't have a problem filling the roles. We were really pleased with the skill level."

Once fully operational, the center will hum with two shifts running between 4 a.m. and 6 p.m. Products will be inbound and outbound through 110 loading bays, split evenly against the south and north sides of the warehouse.

Tracy resident Ryan Murphy, 23, was hired in June to work the forklifts to stock and ship the large items on the warehouse floor. He said the company's reputation was what convinced him to apply. He had been working as an automotive technician before joining Grainger.

"It feels great to have a job like this; I know a lot of people applied," Murphy said. "Everything they do is top-of-the-line. And we've all come in as equals and are building from the ground up. This is the best job I've ever had."

The center has a large lunch room, workout room, locker rooms and a decompression room complete with flat-screen TVs, computer workstations, lounge chairs and a pool table. In keeping with the high-tech approach, even the towel dispensers in the restrooms are automated.

The building itself was constructed to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design specifications, including features such as motion-activated lighting, low-flow toilets, overhead skylights and eco-friendly landscaping.

"We sell a lot of green products and want to incorporate that into our facil- ity," Clark said. "It's just the right thing to do, to have a more sustainable footprint."

Grainger's closest other di