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Development alliance announces distribution center relocating to the area
By Rachel Pleasant
Staff Writer
The Charleston Regional Development Alliance announced earlier this month that FoodHandler Inc., a seller of disposable gloves and other food-handling products, will relocate its distribution center from Memphis, Tenn., to a building in North Charleston.
FoodHandler is currently in the process of moving into a 196,000-square-foot building it will lease from Pattillo Construction in the Palmetto Commerce Park. It plans to be up and running in the facility by December.
The Memphis facility was a “third-party” warehouse, said Kim West, vice president of marketing for FoodHandler.
“FoodHandler wanted to self-manage a warehouse,” West said.
In looking for a new location, FoodHandler had a list of requirements in mind. The Charleston area met each one.
“Three factors were mandatory in this location decision: proximity with an East Coast port, the availability of an educated workforce and competitive outbound freight rates to our customers,” said John Turner, president of FoodHander.
North Charleston beat out 13 other possible locations, including Savannah, Jacksonville, Norfolk and Boston.
In relocating its distribution center to North Charleston, FoodHandler will make a $1.2 million investment in the area.
The company plans to hire approximately 30 employees and has already hired a local management team. The remaining employees will be brought onto the payroll over a five-year period.
West could not provide a possible range of wages for workers at the warehouse.
FoodHandler manufactures disposable gloves, bags, headwear and apparel for the foodservice industry and has manufacturing facilities in China, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
“Most of the products from those areas will be traveling through the Port of Charleston,” Turner said to a small group gathered at the Trident Research Center’s Henderson Building for the announcement.
FoodHandler was established in 1969 and is a division of BarrierSafe Solutions International, which also owns Microflex Inc. and MicroActive Corp.
The FoodHandler announcement was the sixth for the CRDA this fiscal year, said Bill Finn, chairman-elect.
“It’s been a good year,” he said.
Rachel Pleasant is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail her at rpleasant@charlestonbusiness.com.
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