Creekstone Farms Premium Beef LLC announced Oct. 22 the groundbreaking for a new $35 million refrigerated distribution center at its plant in Arkansas City, Kan.

The warehouse will be a total of 41,334 sq. ft. -- consisting of a 35,311 sq. ft. main floor footprint and 6,023 sq. ft. mezzanine area -- and will include an automated storage and retrieval system capable of handling 27,000 boxes in a nine-hour day, with more than 37,000 box storage locations, the company said.

“This new distribution center will help our company manage our expanding business and ensure that we continue to meet our customers’ service level expectations,” Creekstone president and chief executive officer Kazunobu Nomura said. “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. Integral’s team 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.

Creekstone Farms Premium Beef is U.S. Department of Agriculture certified by the Agriculture Marketing Service and supplies many of the nation’s grocers and restaurants with a variety of high-quality meat products, including Black Angus beef, antibiotic-free Duroc pork and its value-added products. Creekstone Farms exports its premium-quality products to Europe, Latin America and Asia and is owned by the Marubeni Group.