Cincinnati-based The Kroger Co. and U.K.-based online supermarket company Ocado plan to build a new automated fulfillment center in Pleasant Prairie.
According to a news release, the 350,000-square-foot warehouse will employ up to 400 workers. The new facility would serve customers in Wisconsin, northern Illinois and northwest Indiana.
Kroger is the largest supermarket chain the country, and in late 2015 acquired Milwaukee-based grocery chain operator Roundy’s Inc. According to the company, its stores serve over 11 million customers daily under a variety of banner names, including Kroger, Pick ‘n Save, Metro Market and several others.
The Pleasant Prairie project would mark Kroger’s sixth fulfillment center location. Kroger broke ground on its first fulfillment center in June in Monroe, Ohio. It has since announced other locations in Florida, Georgia, Texas and the mid-Atlantic region.
“This transformative fulfillment center will create local jobs and accelerate Kroger’s ability to expand our products and services to a larger footprint, providing customers with anything, anytime, anywhere,” Michael Marx, Kroger Roundy’s president, said in the release.
The release didn’t specify what type of jobs the warehouse would generate nor the wages they would offer.
Company officials also did not specify where exactly the facility would be built, and when they planned to break ground. However, they did reveal the new warehouse would become operational two years after commencing construction work.
Village representatives were not immediately available for comment.
“Kroger is an excellent community partner, and we are committed to protecting and preserving their investment in our community,” Nathan Thiel, Pleasant Prairie village administrator, said in the release.
