Hanes Opens Mega Warehouse in Inland Empire
Winston-Salem, N.C.–based Hanesbrands Inc. has opened a 1.3 million-square-foot distribution center in the Inland Empire city of Perris, Calif. The center will handle distribution for all of the company’s brands, including Hanes, Champion, Playtex, Bali, Wonderbra, Just My Size, L’Eggs and others.
About half of the facility has opened for distribution, while the remaining half will open in April. The facility is more than quadruple the size of the company’s existing 360,000-square-foot warehouse in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
“The West Coast distribution center will help us service customers by reducing lead times and increasing speed to market,” said Lee Woodard, vice president of global logistics. “This increases our flexibility to effectively and efficiently distribute our core products produced across our supply chain.”
The center was built to U.S. Green Building Council standards, featuring skylights and motion-detection lighting, which reduces energy usage by 18 percent; low-level plumbing and landscaping fixtures have also been installed, reducing water usage by an estimated 40 percent compared with typical warehouses in the region. During the construction phase, workers were able to reduce material waste by 50 percent by recycling and using locally produced concrete and steel. All paints and carpets contain lower-than-normal levels of volatile organic compounds.
“As a company, we already get more than 15 percent of our energy from renewable sources and have plans to double that in five years. We are committed to operating with a sustainable approach to the environment that recognizes the complexity of our natural systems and our need to be competitive in our industry,” added Woodard. —Robert McAllister
