Dennis Paper & Food Service announced plans to break ground on a 30,000-square-foot warehouse expansion at its Hampden, Maine, headquarters. This is the second expansion in nearly four years; it completed a 20,000-square-foot expansion in 2012.

“As a company focused on delivering the best food and foodservice-related products to New England businesses, we are excited to expand our warehouse capacity,” says Ron Dennis, president. “The new space will give us the ability to bring in more inventory to meet the growing requirements of our diverse customers. It will also allow us to continue adding new members to our team.”

Since 2002, Dennis Paper & Food Service has added over 120 new jobs, with 20% employment growth in the last year alone. This new expansion will position the company for an additional 40% employee growth over the next five years, equaling 50-75 new jobs.

The extensive construction project is slated to be completed in 2017. The expansion includes new refrigerated, frozen and dry storage as well as office space for additional staff. The expansion will also feature a state-of-the-art test kitchen and meeting center, and entail environmentally-friendly practices, energy efficient lighting and product handling equipment.

“Fueled by a passion for food culture, our team’s push for consistent growth and value has driven this second recent expansion,” says Rick Robertson, chief operating officer. “Also, demand for increased inventory offerings through our valued vendor relationships has created an immediate need for additional space. The new test kitchen and meeting center will allow for more investment in training, education and partnerships. Our continuing vision for growth will help us to provide the very best service and solutions to our customers, both existing and new. Our employee owners love to compete and service customers.”

Dennis Paper & Food Service is a broadline distributor providing more than 10,000 brand name products to foodservice operations in Maine and New Hampshire. Dennis Paper & Food Service sold the company to its employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan in December 2014.