Wayne, Pennsylvania-based buying group AD on Thursday announced the opening of its new Canada warehouse and meeting center, located in the greater Toronto area. The new facility provides Canada-based AD members with redistribution of over 75 product lines of industrial, safety and janitorial items, including private-label brand Tuff Grade.

The original warehouse location came to AD as a part of its merger with IDI in 2019. Until now, it was available exclusively for use by members in the Industrial & Safety-Canada Division. The new facility, nearly double in size from the former location, broadens the scope of AD’s warehousing capabilities to all AD divisions in Canada, paving the way for growth and added services for members.

AD CEO Bill Weisberg said the expansion of the warehouse is a significant future-facing investment for AD in the Canadian market.

“AD is grateful to have had a presence in the electrical business in Canada since the early ‘90s. Over the years, we’ve grown our membership there to over 160 independents in the electrical, industrial and safety, and plumbing and heating industries, representing a significant portion of our overall business,” Weisberg said. “Investing in a new, expanded warehouse is a natural extension of our mission to add value and stimulate growth for members. In addition to AD’s new Canada warehouse, we have two warehouses in the U.S. currently serving our Bearings & Power Transmission members. With guidance from our divisional boards, we’re actively pursuing opportunities to capitalize on all our warehouses and expand product offerings from across our divisions.”

Jack Templin, AD president of the Electrical & Industrial Business Unit, added, “This effort is complementary to the contributions of AD’s supplier partners. It allows us to collaborate with them to streamline product distribution and provide a cost-effective model for our members.

“Rob Dewar, AD president of Industrial & Safety–Canada Division, and his entire team embraced the challenge and truly did a phenomenal job of designing and launching a world-class facility, which is especially impressive in light of the current environment. We’re thrilled to expand our warehousing capabilities to all AD Canada members and suppliers and are thankful to be serving there.”