Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Kimball Midwest, a family owned Columbus, Ohio-based distributor of tools, supplies and other needs for the maintenance, repair and operations industries, cut the ribbon Friday to formally open its Savannah distribution center, the first in the Southeast.
The ribbon-cutting on the 14,000-square-foot facility at 730 King George Blvd. was followed by a tour and barbecue lunch.
With customers in 49 states, Kimball Midwest already has distribution centers in Columbus, Dallas and Reno, Nev. The Savannah location will serve as the company’s southeastern distribution center and office.
The center, which has been operating since shortly after the first of the year, is off to a fast start, said Kimball president and CEO Pat McCurdy.
“Just in the first two months here, we’ve shipped more than 12,000 orders to more than 5,000 customers and 99 percent of those were next-day,” McCurdy said.
“That is really huge for our customers and our sales force,” he said, adding that 99 percent of the product is shipped complete.
The new facility will house Kimball Midwest’s extensive inventory of everything from nuts and bolts to cutting tools and chemicals, and will allow an average of 95 percent of customers at the new center to get next-day service on their orders.
Another point of pride, McCurdy said, is that more than 80 percent of the products they carry are made in the United States.
“There are very few distributors who can make that claim,” he said.
Dave McCurdy, vice president of operations, said the Kimball Midwest sales team has always been the backbone of the company that began operations some 92 years ago.
“The beautiful thing about our background is that our dad sold for this business from 1950 to 1978, so we grew up with an appreciation of what a sales team means to a company,” he said, adding that the Southeast sales team in Savannah was already proving its worth.
“Savannah has been a perfect city for us logistically and for the type of people we’ve been able to attract,” he said.
The Savannah warehouse has 20 employees currently and will continue hiring as they grow into the space, a company spokeswoman said.
Dave Myers, director of marketing and communications, told the board of the Savannah Economic Development Authority in September that Kimball Midwest is a rapidly growing company.
Founded in 1923, the business posted $1 million in sales in 1986.
In 2013, Kimball Midwest, which employs 800 sales reps nationally, had $200 million in sales.
