Hardware Supplier Picks KC for Key Distribution Site

Score one more for the Kansas City region’s national appeal as a center for logistics: The Kansas Department of Commerce announced this morning that Spectrum Brands Hardware and Home Improvement would merge the operations from distribution facilities in California and North Carolina, setting up shop at Logistics Park Kansas City.

The company, based in Madison, Wisc., said it would move quickly to launch operations from the logistics center near Edgerton in Johnson County. It will lease a distribution center of more than 927,000 square feet, the largest industrial facility ever built on a spec basis in this market. When it’s up and running, the Spectrum operation will employ 315 people.

Following a review of its distibution network that began in December, said Spectrum’s general manager, Phil Szuba, “we determined that centralizing distribution operations in Edgerton will enable Spectrum Brands HHI to more efficiently serve our customers with lower inventory levels while establishing a platform for future growth.”

Commerce Secretary Antonio Soave, who announced the Spectrum decision with a news release this morning, said that the 1,700-acre logistics park had “become a haven for excellence in business, and we look forward to continuing this tradition of excellence with Spectrum Brands at its new distribution facility in Edgerton.”