Dot Foods Inc., a large food industry redistributor in North America, announced it will make a $22 million investment in its Burley distribution center. The company will begin construction this summer on an additional 66,800 square feet of traditional warehouse space to its existing facility to support growth in Dot's business on the West coast. This includes significantly increased dry, frozen and refrigerated warehouse storage space. Dot plans to finish construction in summer of 2025, which will allow the company to move an additional 80 million pounds of product through the Burley facility each year.
“We are proud to be investing in our operations in Burley and setting ourselves up to meet the growing needs of our West coast customers by expanding our warehouse," Chris Landrum, vice president of warehousing at Dot Foods, said in the announcement. “The expansion will also continue our investment in the Mini-Cassia region, which is always a priority for Dot in the communities we call home. We plan to hire 80 new people in our Burley location over the next five years to support this growth. Our people are the key to our success, and we're excited to expand our talented Burley team.”
The Burley location is crucial in servicing Dot's customers in Idaho, Utah, Oregon, Washington and parts of Wyoming, Colorado and Montana. The Burley distribution center hit capacity in all temperatures –dry, frozen, and refrigerated – in 2023 and now needs additional warehouse space to meet Dot's increasing demand. The expansion will add 24,400 square feet of frozen warehouse space, 8,700 square feet of cooler space, and 14,700 square feet to the dry warehouse. Additionally, nearly 19,000 square feet of cold and dry dock space and 15 new dock doors will be added. The expansion will increase the facility's total square footage to 206,800.
“There is a growing need for frozen and cold storage space across the country,” Landrum continued in the announcement. “Increasing our capacity in those in-demand temperatures is a priority for us so we can continue to provide the best possible service to our customers."
The Burley distribution center launched operations in 2018 with a 140,000-square-foot building on a 40-acre site. Over the last 16 years, the workforce at the facility has grown, expanding from just over 60 employees to nearly 340, which includes warehouse workers, truck drivers, and administrative staff.
“Our team is thrilled to add additional space to our building and new people to our group with this project,” explained Dan Caldwell, general manager of Dot's Burley distribution center. “Burley is an incredible community to be part of, and we look forward to continuing to build on what we've created in the last 16 years and drive even more success for our region and for our business.”
Brett Boyer, Burley City administrator, said in the announcement: “Dot Foods, Inc., has been a great corporate citizen in Burley, Idaho, and we are excited that they are expanding their operations here. We appreciate the investment into our city and the new jobs this will create. The City of Burley congratulates their whole team and looks forward to the completion of their expansion.”
