McLane Company Inc.
McLane North Texas
7550 Oak Grove Road
Fort Worth 76110
www.mclaneco.com
McLane Company Inc., one of the nation’s largest grocery distributors, has settled on Fort Worth for a new distribution center, and the company was given a welcome at the Oct. 30 city council meeting.
The Temple-based wholesale grocery, food service and beverage distribution company, with a customer base that includes Walmart, 7-Eleven and Yum! Brands, is expected to bring 550 jobs to the city.
The Fort Worth City Council authorized execution of an economic development program agreement with McLane Company for the development and operation of a wholesale grocery distribution center at 7550 Oak Grove Road. Council also adopted a resolution nominating the project as an enterprise project.
The agreement is for five years and is equal economic development office is equal to up to 50 percent of incremental business personal property taxes.
McLane Company, with more than 20,000 employees, has a network of regional distribution centers across the United States.
McLane Company plans to begin expanded operations by mid-2019. Craig Rosenthal will lead the opening and continued operation of the new facility, according to McLane. Rosenthal, a 30-year supply chain veteran, is currently the division president of McLane Southern in Brookhaven, Mississippi.
As part of the agreement, McLane must employ a minimum of 550 full-time employees by Dec. 1, 2020. The company must also fill the greater of 165 full-time positions or 30 percent of all full-time positions with Fort Worth residents and the greater of 55 full-time positions or 10 percent of all full-time positions with Fort Worth Central City residents (with the understanding that employment of Fort Worth Central City residents will also count as employment of Fort Worth residents).
McLane has promised a capital investment of $18 million in business personal property as part of a commercial lease for 650,000 square feet in the Carter Industrial Park in South Fort Worth. This would be payable by Jan. 1, 2020. The building, currently undergoing renovations, has ambient, cooler and freezer capabilities, according to McLane.
According to the agreement, McLane must spend a minimum of $60,000 of annual discretionary service and supply expenditures with Fort Worth companies, and a minimum of $30,000 of annual discretionary service and supply expenditures with Fort Worth certified Minority/Women in Business Enterprise companies (with the understanding that dollars spent with Fort Worth certified M/WBE companies will also count as dollars spent with Fort Worth companies.)
Supply and service expenditures means all expenditures by the company expended directly for the operation and maintenance of the development, excluding amounts paid for electric, gas, water and any other utility services (but not excluding cable, internet or television services).
“The expansion of McLane Company is very exciting news as it brings vital economic impact, especially for an underserved area of Fort Worth,” Mayor Betsy Price said in a news release from the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. “We welcome this impressive Texas company and celebrate their expansion along with the new opportunities they bring for the local workforce.” Fort Worth Economic Developer Robert Sturns said the estimated benefit to the city would be around $362,250.
“McLane is excited about the available, industrious workforce that will enable us to expand our business, said Tony Frankenberger, president of grocery at McLane. “After exploring locations in Arkansas and Oklahoma, we kept coming back to Fort Worth, which is strategically located and allows us to best serve our valued and ever-growing customer base. We want to thank Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and City of Fort Worth for their efforts and support.”
McLane, a Berkshire Hathaway company – one of five in Fort Worth – is one of the largest supply chain service providers in the United States, offering grocery and food service supply chain solutions for convenience stores, mass merchants, drugstores and chain restaurants.
Last year, McLane delivered 1.325 billion pounds of fresh produce to retailers at more than 110,000 locations across the country.
McLane North Texas’ territory, which also has a food service distribution site at 7301 Trinity Blvd. in east Fort Worth, will primarily serve the Dallas-Fort Worth area as well as parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. The new grocery distribution center, one of more than 80 operated by the company, is expected to employ approximately 400 distribution center workers and 150 drivers.
McLane traces its roots back to in 1894 in Cameron, Texas, when Robert McLane opened a small local grocery.
McLane Classic Foods, a part of the McLane Group that specializes in manufacturing custom developed and prepared soups, sauces and side dishes for national restaurant chains, including Potbelly Sandwich Shops, Denny’s, Panera Bread and Logan’s Roadhouse has been located in Fort Worth since 1992. But a year ago, the company announced it was moving to a new 150,000-square foot facility in Burleson’s HighPoint Business Park East.
McLane is also known for its deep community involvement, extending support to many initiatives including Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and United Way.
McLane is the first distributor to partner with Partnership for a Healthier America in its work to help improve the health of America’s youth by ending the childhood obesity crisis within a generation.