On Aug. 17, broadline MRO distributor Grainger officially broke ground on a new distribution center in Oregon. The facility will be Grainger’s first new DC since 2021.

Business and community leaders from the greater Portland metro area joined Grainger executives to begin construction on the company’s 500,000 square-foot facility, called the Northwest Distribution Center.

Grainger expects the new facility will employ about 80 team members when complete, and over time it will likely employ more than 150 people.

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The highly automated facility will be Grainger’s first new distribution center built since its Louisville Distribution Center began outbound operations two years ago. Inbound operations slated at the new Northwest Distribution center are expected to start in late 2024 and outbound in 2025.

The building will be constructed on a vacant 48-acre parcel of land in an industrial area in the city of Gresham, near Portland.

This new facility will be Grainger’s first distribution center in the region, in addition to 10 other branches the company operates in Pacific Northwest states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana.

The company announced plans to start construction on the newest facility in July. The center is expected to house more than 135,000 industrial supply items, including hand and power tools, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, fluid power solutions, lighting, power transmission equipment, and motors.

Last month, Grainger reported its 2023 second-quarter financial results, showing another strong quarter for the company despite what appears to be a slowdown across most of the industry. The company posted total 2Q23 sales of $4.18 billion, up 9.0% year-over-year and up 2.2% sequentially from 1Q23. 2Q23 sales were up 10.1% year-over-year on a daily, constant currency basis.

On MDM’s 2023 Top Distributors Lists, Grainger ranks No. 1 among Industrial Distributors, No. 1 for MRO Distributors, No. 5 for Fluid Power Distributors, No. 7 among Power Transmission/Bearings Distributors, No. 15 among Electrical, Data & Security Distributors, No. 17 for Fastener Distributors, and included among top JanSan and Safety Distributors.