Burris Logistics has purchased the former U.S. Foods Inc. cold storage building in Waukesha, marking its entry into Wisconsin.
An affiliate of Milford, Delaware-based Burris acquired the building at 900 Gale St. for $10 million, according to state records.
Nick Falk, Burris' senior vice president of business development and solution design, said the company should begin shipping out of the facility in September. It plans to hire up to 125 workers there, and has already hired key team members including a general manager.
Burris provides such services as cold storage, custom distribution, logistics technology and direct-to-consumer fulfillment. Falk said its clients include direct-to-consumer grocery delivery services such as ButcherBox, Splendid Spoon, HungryRoot, Wild Alaskan and Perdue Farms.
"This is a place where we have multiple requests from customers to move into this geography," he said.
Clients have asked that Burris be able to provide one-day transit for direct-to-consumer delivery in places like Milwaukee, Chicago, Minneapolis and Des Moines, Iowa, Falk said. The new Waukesha facility will also allow Burris to deliver products to places like Denver and Fort Worth, Texas, within two days, said Bobby Bailey, vice president of marketing.
Before opening, Burris is making some changes and upgrades to its new Waukesha facility. This includes a monitoring system for the refrigeration, and installing conveyers and other automation systems.
This marks the first Wisconsin location for Burris, but it may not be its only one. The company could expand its footprint even more in the Milwaukee region and the state. It will be monitoring opportunities, including for other segments such as its wholly owned subsidiary,
Trinity Logistics.
Burris bought the building from an affiliate of Milwaukee-based Zilber Property Group. The property is assessed at roughly $5.6 million, according to Waukesha County records.
Zilber only acquired the building in December for $6.3 million. At the time, the company said it would make minor improvements and market the vacant facility to users immediately.
"We’ve recognized the demand for temperature-controlled facilities by direct users and third party logistics firms has been steadily increasing over the last several years," John Kersey, executive vice president, Zilber Ltd., said in a statement back in December.
Zilber did not respond to a request for comment on its sale of the building.
