Springfield Underground finishes Kraft facility

The facility, 3610 E. Kearney St., was built-to-suit by owner Springfield Underground, according to a news release. Westerville, Ohio-based Exel staffs the center with 91 employees who provide inbound and outbound services including storage of finished goods, order picking and fulfillment.

With its unique limestone structure, the center is kept at 36 degrees Fahrenheit using what Kraft estimates is 65 percent less energy than a comparable surface warehouse, equal to the annual power requirements of about 700 homes. It also features energy-saving fluorescent lighting, high-efficiency refrigeration equipment and a design that prevents incremental storm-water runoff.

The center houses about 230 product lines including Kraft cheeses, Oscar Mayer meats and Jell-O refrigerated puddings.

This is Springfield Underground’s largest project to date and brings its underground space to more than 2.2 million square feet, according to the release. Kraft has leased space there for refrigerated storage since the 1960s, according to spokeswoman Cathy Pernu. The new facility approximately doubles Kraft’s space at Springfield Underground.

Kraft chose Springfield for a regional hub because of the needs of its local plant, 2035 E. Bennett St., and proximity to other Midwest Kraft facilities, transportation carriers and customer distribution points for direct shipments, the release said.

The new center freed up production space at the East Bennett plant for new equipment, Pernu said, which allowed Kraft to add 20 jobs during the last year.[[In-content Ad]]