Chances are that many readers, like this reporter, had never heard of Wanzl--but Ben Hinnen, Wanzl North America CEO, told me that I probably use one of their products several times every week. Wanzl is the leading shopping cart producer in North America.
Their US headquarters is located in Newton. On Tuesday (Oct. 4th) they held a ribbon cutting for their new Lincolnton distribution center at 519 Lincoln County Parkway Ext. in the Industrial Park north of Lincolnton.
"Strong long-term sales growth with both national and regional retailers is driving our continued investment in the Catawba Valley and surrounding communities," Hinnen told us. While the company does make more shopping carts than anyone else, the new Lincolnton warehouse will be mainly dedicated to other product lines. Other products the company produces include wire racks, shelving, pallet systems, and more.
The new facility, an 83,000 sq. ft. warehouse and office, is 50% larger than their current warehouse and houses 6,750 storage locations, but it won't need a large workforce. “Once operating, the Lincolnton warehouse will consist of only 16 employees," said Tim Lominac, Senior Materials Manager. "Due to the efficiency enabled by the newly implemented Warehouse Management System, increased storage capacity and new equipment allows greater cube utilization."
The new Lincolnton warehouse is located only 8 miles from Wanzl’s Newton manufacturing facility and corporate offices. Wanzl North America (formerly Technibilt, Ltd.), is a leading business-to-business solution provider for retailers. Founded in 1946 and acquired by Wanzl GmbH & Co. KGaA in 2012, Wanzl North America's parent company, Wanzl GmbH & Co. KGaA, is an owner-managed family company in its third generation, with over 4,600 employees, global production sites and sales outlets. Together, Wanzl offers over 100,000 products, solutions, and innovations.
This is one of two major business events in Lincoln County this week. On Friday (Oct. 7th) Huber Technology will hold a groundbreaking for its expansion of its location at 1009 Airlie Parkway in Denver.
