The global market leader for future proof logistic process automation at airports and in the parcel market – as well as being a leading supplier for warehouses – has invested in this center with a view to reducing lead times and costs for Vanderlande’s North American customer base.
Vanderlande’s impressive new facility in Acworth (GA) is an amalgamation of the company’s manufacturing plants previously located in Calhoun (GA) and the existing North American Distribution Center (adjacent to the site in Acworth). These two locations separately employed around 25 people, but the Manufacturing and Distribution Center will more than triple that number to between 80 and 100 employees when operating at full capacity.
Acworth benefits from the latest state-of-the-art metal-fabricating equipment and paint-coating line. Vanderlande will manufacture baggage conveyor and sortation equipment, carousels and automated passenger checkpoints (such as SCANNOJET) for the airports market. In addition, the company will produce POSISORTER and COMPAXORTER line-sorting technology solutions, as well as bulk conveyors and chutes for the warehousing and parcel markets.
Vanderlande’s COO, Gert Bossink stated: “We have adopted a strategy in which we’re balancing global sourcing and local manufacturing to achieve the best solution for our customers. Opening the new center in the USA fits perfectly with this approach.”
Vanderlande’s President Airports, North America, Nick Porter, added: “The investment in this facility demonstrates Vanderlande’s commitment to the North American market. It will reduce the total cost of ownership for our customers through shortened lead times, increased flexibility and the agility made possible by producing high-quality products here in Georgia.”
The main North American customers to be serviced by Vanderlande’s Manufacturing and Distribution Center are UPS, FedEx and some of North America’s largest airports. These include Los Angeles, Chicago O’Hare, Vancouver and Atlanta. The Acworth site will also house the company’s North American spare parts business and act as a distribution point for the continent’s and other global shipments.