Haier America has chosen Georgia and the Port of Savannah as its logistics hub serving the southeastern United States.
The global firm will move its home appliances and air conditioners through a distribution center at the Interstate Centre in Black Creek at Interstate 16 and U.S. 280, 18 miles from the Georgia Ports Authority gates.
Larry Monaghan, Haier’s senior vice president of administration, said the Port of Savannah and its adjacent distribution center network were a good fit for the company’s needs.
“Haier’s projected growth pattern coincides with the already approved work on deepening the Savannah port and the opening of the new Panama Canal,” Monaghan said.
“Once both of these major projects are completed,” he said, “we believe that Savannah will become the destination port for distribution into the eastern U.S.”
The company indicated the flexibility offered by the number of shipping services calling on Savannah — more than any other port in the Southeast — also played a role in its decision.
Monaghan said Haier will move an annual volume of 4,500 TEUs — or 20-foot equivalent container units — through Savannah.
Third-party logistics provider Kenco Logistic Services will run the Black Creek operation in a 230,000-square-foot space at Interstate Centre, he said.
The company plans to employ more than 50 people when the Haier distribution center reaches full staff.
“Kenco is proud to have been selected by this market leader,” said David Caines, company president. “We leveraged our years of experience in managing appliance supply chains to develop a common-sense solution that will deliver uncommon value to Haier.”
Kenco officials said they chose the distribution center’s location because of its proximity to the Port of Savannah and the area’s solid infrastructure.
The Bryan County facility will be Kenco’s fourth in Georgia and first in the Savannah area.
“This distribution center is the first of its kind in the U.S. for Haier because it handles their complete product line. Previously, the company used dedicated distribution facilities for specific products,” said Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Curtis Foltz. “That makes an important statement about Haier’s trust in GPA’s reliable service and speed to market.”
Haier’s Monaghan said that beyond the area’s available warehouse space, Savannah’s geographic location — including its proximity to I-16 and Interstate 95 — will help the company to better serve a major portion of its retailers and customer base in states ranging from Georgia and Florida to Texas.
Georgia leads the nation in warehouse and distribution center development, according to the latest figures available from global real estate firm Colliers International.
With 3.4 million square feet of warehouse space under construction by October 2012, Georgia nearly doubled Tennessee’s rate of increase, which ranked second at 1.8 million square feet. Ohio was third at 1.7 million square feet; California and Arizona rounded out the top five with each marking 1.5 million square feet of distribution center space under development.
ABOUT HAIER
Based in New York City, Haier America is a division of the multi-national Haier Group, the world’s No. 1 major appliance brand as ranked by Euromonitor International 2012, and a global leader in consumer electronics. Haier employs more than 80,000 people around the world and distributes products in more than 100 countries and regions, with global revenues reaching $23.3 billion in 2011. Learn more at www.haieramerica.com.
ABOUT KENCO
Kenco has provided integrated logistics solutions that include distribution and fulfillment, comprehensive transportation management, material handling services, real estate management and information technology to customers for more than 60 years. Learn more at www.kencogroup.com.