Tractor Supply opens latest and largest distribution center
Tractor Supply Company has opened its latest and largest distribution center in Navarre, Ohio.
Earlier today, Tractor Supply executives and team members celebrated the grand opening. Local elected officials and community leaders were also in attendance.
The new facility will support the company’s continued growth and U.S. expansion. It’s also the first distribution center Tractor Supply has opened since its Frankfort, N.Y. facility in 2019.
Since that time, the farm and ranch retailer said its sales have grown by more than 70%.
In 2022, Tractor Supply achieved several major milestones in its history, surpassing more than 2,100 Tractor Supply stores nationwide and 50,000 Team Members. Tractor Supply ranks 294 on the list of Fortune 500 companies.
“The opening of our state-of-the-art distribution center in Navarre is an exciting milestone for Tractor Supply,” said Colin Yankee, executive vice president and chief supply chain officer at Tractor Supply. “Our distribution centers are an essential part of our operations, keeping our stores stocked with everything our customers need for Life Out Here, and delivering online orders directly to our customers."
Yankee also noted that the Navarre facility will allow Tractor Supply to better serve its growing customer base in the Ohio and Upper Midwest regions.
The facility is creating about 500 jobs in the Stark County region.
"We look forward to being a part of and investing in this community," Yankee said.
In addition to the official “pallet-cutting” that marked the opening of the facility, Tractor Supply demonstrated its investment in the local community by presenting donations to several local organizations, including Stark County 4-H Youth Development Program, Boys & Girls Club of Massillon and R.G. Drage Career Center FFA.
“Congratulations to Tractor Supply Company on the opening of its newest distribution center in Navarre,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. “Ohio appreciates the company’s investment in jobs and the northeast Ohio community. We look forward to Tractor Supply’s continued growth and success and we are excited about what this economic development project will bring to the region.”
This is the first Tractor Supply distribution facility built to LEED Gold standards. Construction on the 900,000-square-foot building began in May 2021 and was completed in December 2022.
The center features a rooftop solar array system consisting of more than 10,000 solar panels that will produce five megawatts of electricity per year. This is enough to meet the entire building’s electricity needs while reducing its carbon footprint by approximately 4,100 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.
Additionally, the facility will also utilize electric fork trucks powered by lithium-ion batteries to pick and move inventory. Tractor Supply said that it is working toward achieving net zero emissions across all its operations by 2040.
The company’s ninth distribution center sits on 117 acres of property and is equidistant from its existing distribution centers in Hagerstown, Md. and Pendleton, Ind.
Navarre began receiving products in early December and will begin shipping in February 2023, the company said.
Based in Brentwood, Tenn., Tractor Supply operates more than 2,000 stores in 49 states along with 180 Petsense by Tractor Supply stores in 23 states.