Kwik Trip, one of Wisconsin’s most successful convenience store brands, is on track to open a new satellite distribution center this fall that will employ 400 people in DeForest.
The 280,000-square-foot facility, which will service 370 Kwik Trip stores in southeastern Wisconsin and Illinois, will be Kwik Trip’s second distribution center in the state, complementing a distribution facility at its La Crosse headquarters.
The company broke ground on the center last July. It will enable Kwik Trip to reduce transportation costs for stores in southern Wisconsin and accommodate the need for additional space due to growth in its retail store, production and delivery operations.
Kwik Trip, founded in 1965 and now observing its 60th anniversary, has grown to a network of 850 grocery stores throughout the Midwest. With more than 30 new stores being added each year, a second distribution center was a necessity.
In addition to office staff, additional commercial drivers will be needed because the new facility is expected to handle 70 routes per day. To fill out its staff in DeForest, Kwik Trip offered a $5,000 sign-on bonus and starting wages of about $92,000 per year for new CDL drivers, with paid on-the-job training available for individuals 18 and older.Â
“Hiring is going well for both our drivers and for the distribution center staff,” said Ben Leibl, a spokesperson for Kwik Trip. “The co-workers that we are hiring will complete their training in La Crosse and when we open in the fall, we will be able to hit the ground running because everyone will be up to speed.”
The road to commerce
The 150-acre site where the center is being constructed, which was purchased by Kwik Trip for $14.1 million, was previously unused farmland at the southwest quadrant of the intersection of highways 51 and 19, located about 10 miles north of Madison.
To accommodate increased truck traffic at the site, the village of DeForest, with the help of a $1.5 million Transportation Economic Assistance grant from the state of Wisconsin, is working to complete roads leading to the site and intersection improvements.
The project will expand North Towne Road and Pepsi Way on the village’s west side, and Kwik Trip will be responsible for an internal network of private roads on the site.
Alex Allon, community development director for DeForest, said roadwork on Pepsi Way and U.S. Highway 51 was to be completed by the end of June. Lights at that intersection will likely be installed in September.
“On the northbound lane on (Highway) 51, there’s an extra turn lane or two that will go to access the site and those are getting reconstructed right now,” Allon said. “Eventually, that’ll be signalized, so that’s where the bulk of the work is being done.”
The distribution center will include a freezer, cooler and dry goods storage, along with four banana ripening rooms. Kwik Trip also plans to have an on-site medical clinic for employees and a truck wash and maintenance facility.
Should Kwik Trip choose to expand on the 150-acre site at some future date, there should be ample room. Allon said the facility itself will take up close to 65 acres, and there will be remaining greenfields on the north and east sides of where the company is currently building.
In addition to Wisconsin, Kwik Trip has stores in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, South Dakota and Minnesota. While it will initially serve only Wisconsin and Illinois, the economic development benefits of having a Kwik Trip distribution facility in DeForest is an exciting prospect for village officials.
“They have been a great community partner and one of the more beloved businesses in the state,” Allon said. “So, we’re happy to have them here and excited about them getting up and running.”Â
