Northeastern Supply, Inc. president, Steve Cook, is counting the days until the company will again be able to house all inventory under one roof. In recent years, the company's growth has precipitated the need to lease additional warehouse space. A more permanent solution will soon be at hand with the completion of Northeastern'ss new 100,000 square foot, state-of-the-art distribution facility in nearby Edgewood, Maryland.

"In 1991, we moved our operations from Baltimore to our current Golden Ring location," explains Cook. "This location has served as our corporate headquarters and sales center, as well as our distribution center. Because of our expansion and growth, however, we outgrew the Golden Ring distribution facility and have had to lease additional warehouse space in order to accommodate overflow inventory," he notes.

The management of multiple warehouse locations has not been ideal. As a result of this situation, as well as looking to the future for continued growth, the decision was made to construct a new Central Distribution Center (CDC) on a 15-acre site in the Lakeside Business Park, just off of Interstate 95. This expansion project will allow Northeastern to move its distribution functions out of the Golden Ring location, while allowing the sales center operations and corporate headquarters to remain at Golden Ring, with plenty of room for expansion.

"The new CDC will directly benefit our customers in many ways," notes Cook. "All incoming freight will be shipped to Northeastern's CDC. We have planned the facility with technology that will streamline the distribution process. This technology will also result in greater accuracy in getting our product to the customers. Best of all, the added warehouse space, which is nearly two times the cubic square footage that we currently have, allows us to expand the depth and breadth of our product lines."

"In addition," continues Cook, "during the planning process we allowed for potential expansion down the road. Phase Two of the project, which is already approved, includes an additional 100,000 square feet of space and would bring the total capacity to 200,000 square feet. We believe this plan will carry us well into the future."

Construction of the new distribution center commenced in September 2000, and it is anticipated that the building will be operational by March 2001. Managing the facility will be Norman Houck. He will be assisted by Receiving Supervisor, Richard Lazzara, and Branch Transfer Supervisor, Butch Slevin. All three are highly talented, veteran members of the Northeastern team.

"We are looking forward to the completion of this project, and to being able to serve our customers even better," says Cook. "The need for, and subsequent construction of, the new CDC demonstrates the confidence that our customers have in Northeastern. We will continue to do whatever it takes to provide for our customers' product needs and to continue to earn their business."