Naperville, IL—KeHE Distributors has announced the opening of a new Maryland distribution center, according to a press release, in order to offer better service to independent retailers in the northeast region.

The 550,000 square-foot facility is located between Washington D.C. and New York City. The press release notes that this brings KeHE’s network to 16 national distribution centers.

Over 90 employees are currently working in the distribution center, which features 82,000 square-feet of freezer space, 54,000 square-feet of refrigerated cooler space, and a 19,000 square-foot refrigerated dock to keep perishable items cool during the loading process. The press release also notes that the distribution center uses energy-efficient LED lighting in alignment with KeHE’s sustainability efforts. The company is collaborating with some of its larger customers to implement a plastic tote exchange, which will lead to a reduction of waste.

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“We are extremely proud to expand our operations throughout the northeast region to enhance our supply chain services to independent retailers in that portion of the country,” said Amy Kirtland, Executive Vice President of Independent Sales, KeHE, in the press release. “We believe that independent retailers are the heart of their communities and we want to help them thrive. This expansion will improve delivery times, increase speed-to-shelf of new items and power overall operational excellence.”

“Spending the last year working with the KeHE team has been fantastic,” added Eric Yetta, Chief Operations Officer at Maryland-based MOM’s Organic Market. “There was nothing easy about the decision to switch our main distributor here, at Moms, from UNFI to KeHE, but during the entire process, the KeHE team was so positive and collaborative. It turned out to be a great experience and a huge win for our store teams and our customers.”

A virtual tour of the new warehouse is availablehere.