Creekstone Farms Premium Beef LLC broke ground on a new $35 million refrigerated distribution center at its Arkansas City, Kan., headquarters facility.

The 41,334-square-foot warehouse will consist of a 35,311-square-foot main floor footprint, a 6,023-square-foot mezzanine area and an automated storage and retrieval system capable of handling 27,000 boxes in a 9-hour day with more than 37,000 box storage locations.

“This new distribution center will help our company manage our expanding business and ensure that we continue to meet our customers’ service level expectations,” says Kazunobu Nomura, president and CEO. “This major investment by the Marubeni Group shows the commitment that Creekstone’s parent company has in Creekstone Farms, its employees and customers. We are very excited to get this project completed, as it will be a catalyst, allowing for growth to meet our customer demands.”

Construction of the new facility will be handled by Integral Strategic Solutions, Belton, Mo., which consists of Kuecker Logistics Group, Weitz Co. Inc., Interstate and Schemmer Associates, Inc.

The new distribution center is expected to be fully operational by the fall of 2019.