A M King, a national, fully integrated design-build firm, has completed design and construction of its fourth major project for Cheney Brothers, Inc. The 386,047-square-foot refrigerator/freezer distribution facility in Florence, South Carolina, includes 45 loading docks, a Cheney Express and the largest culinary kitchen the company has developed to date. 

Part of Performance Food Group, Cheney Brothers, based in Riviera Beach, Florida, was founded in 1925. In 2016, the company purchased Pate Dawson Co., thereby acquiring distribution and processing facilities in Statesville, North Carolina, and Greensboro, North Carolina. 

Cheney Brothers’ first location in South Carolina, the Florence facility is located on nearly 50 acres in the Pee Dee Commerce City East Industrial Park — across Interstate-95 from Buc-ee’s. The new distribution center provides means for the broadline distributor to significantly expand its reach in the region.

“It’s simple when you partner with ‘best in class’ companies,” explained Mike Turner, Cheney Brothers’ Florence facility president. “It’s been a pleasure working with A M King over the years while they have helped us grow our footprint here in the Carolinas with the best buildings in the industry. We truly appreciate their professionalism, attention to detail, and the commitment to excellence throughout this project. We know A M King and they know us. Relationship matters!”   

Scope of work included 100,963 square feet of dry storage and a 36,098-square-foot dry dock; a 90,095-square-foot freezer; 60,683 square feet of cooler with separate rooms and temperatures for dairy/meat, flour and produce, and a 31,533-square-foot cooler dock; 30,424 square feet of office spaces; a 7,142-square feet Cheney Express with walk-in cooler; and a 3,364-square-foot test kitchen. We also designed space for future expansion within the facility, including a 75,305-square-foot cooler-freezer; 47,856 square feet of dry warehouse and a 6,620-square-foot unfinished mezzanine.

“We were thrilled to partner with Cheney Brothers to develop a facility of this magnitude and complexity. Our history of successful projects for CBI, along with our depth and breadth of food industry expertise, made this an ideal venture,” said  A M King Vice President, David Sawicki.

The installation of a robotic forklift battery exchanger carousel --- a first for Cheney Brothers’ facilities --- improves productivity and safety. In addition, our Design-Build approach seamlessly integrated dynamic seismic flexibility with high-wind protection into a single, resilient solution.

A M King’s past projects for Cheney Brothers include two major expansions at their Statesville facility and transformed a vacant shell building in Greensboro into a state-of-the-art food processing facility for Cheney Brothers’ affiliate Southern Foods. 

A M King currently has a project underway for Cheney Brothers in Florida. 

About A M King
A M King is an integrated Design-Build firm based in Charlotte, NC with offices in Greenville, SC, Chicago, IL and Milwaukee, WI. An employee-owned company, A M King consistently and successfully delivers quality projects throughout the United States. With an experienced team committed to protecting clients’ assets, the firm provides property consulting, design, construction, and facility services in key market sectors including food processing, food distribution, industrial manufacturing, and corporate properties.

About Performance Food Group Company
Performance Food Group is an industry leader and one of the largest food and foodservice distribution companies in North America with more than 150 locations. Founded and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, PFG and our family of companies market and deliver quality food and related products to over 300,000 locations including independent and chain restaurants; businesses, schools and healthcare facilities; vending and office coffee service distributors; and big box retailers, theaters and convenience stores. PFG’s success as a Fortune 100 company is achieved through our approximately 43,000 dedicated associates committed to building strong relationships with the valued customers, suppliers and communities we serve.