STATESVILLE, NC (August 23, 2012)—A Goldsboro-based food-service distributor Pate Dawson Co., broke ground Aug. 20 on the expansion phase of its planned $9 million distribution center in Statesville Business Park.
In December, the company announced that it intended to expand an existing shell building from 63,000 square feet to 105,000 square feet, in anticipation of locating a regional distribution center serving greater Charlotte and the western Carolinas. The shell building was completed in August 2008.
The distribution center will create 49 jobs over three years and 76 jobs over five years, with an average annual wage of $47,000.
The expansion is expected to be complete in about six months, said Michael Smith, executive director of Statesville Regional Development.
Pate Dawson Co. is one of the largest independent food-service distributors in the Southeast; serving customers in 14 states.
Its product line consists of about 6,500 items, including fresh and frozen meats, poultry and seafood, fresh produce and dairy, frozen foods, canned and dry goods, paper products, foam and plastic containers, cleaning chemicals, supplies, and small wares.
Companies having their food shipped from the center will include the Charlotte-based Bojangles’ restaurant chain, Pate Dawson president Dave Stansfield said at the ground-breaking.
Mac Sullivan, the company’s chairman and CEO, said Pate Dawson searched for a site within a 50-mile radius of Charlotte, to serve its restaurant customers in Western North Carolina. The 127-year-old company also operates distribution centers in Goldsboro and Greensboro.
Statesville’s prime location at the intersection of I-77 and I-40, its proximity to major markets in the Southeast, and the ready availability of a skilled workforce were major factors in Statesville’s selection, company officials said. In areas where additional training will be required, Mitchell Community College will team with the company to implement an ongoing workforce development program.
The company is a fifth-generation family business that will invest in the project over the next three years. The project was made possible in part by a $150,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund.
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