Spartan Logistics to Purchase Whirlpool Distribution Facility in Fort Smith, AR

    FORT SMITH, AR, May 08, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Spartan Logistics and Whirlpool Corporation proudly announce the sale of the 619,508 square feet distribution building from the Whirlpool Corporation complex located at 6400 Jenny Lind Rd in Fort Smith. Spartan Logistics is a third-party logistics company specializing in acquiring and operating older properties as distribution centers in major manufacturing areas. The company has previously redeveloped properties in Ohio, Indiana and South Carolina.

"We were really awestruck the level of industrial activity in the Fort Smith area when we arrived here last year," said Ed Harmon, Chairman of Spartan Logistics and President of its development company. "We are really excited about the opportunities here to work with the Chamber of Commerce and local businesses to serve their real estate and supply chain needs."

There is tremendous local enthusiasm for this re-development opportunity as well. "This is more positive economic news for Fort Smith, especially because Spartan Logistics will utilize an existing facility that meets its requirements," said Sandy Sanders, mayor of Fort Smith. "We welcome Spartan Logistics and appreciate the new jobs the company will provide."

Spartan Logistics first leased a portion of the building in 2013 while conducting due diligence on the property and exploring other investment alternatives. "Whirlpool has been great to work with in this process and although they regret closing this facility, they want to see it put quickly back into productive use and contribute to the Fort Smith economy," said Harmon. Spartan will anchor the facility with an existing customer and will seek other leasing and public warehouse opportunities from local companies.

"The key to our growth remains great service to our business customers, hiring the best people, and finding great buildings. This location gives us an opportunity to do all three in Fort Smith," says Harmon. Final closing of the sale is expected later in 2014 but Spartan will immediately take over operating and marketing the property from Whirlpool.

"The sale of the Whirlpool facility to Spartan Logistics is outstanding news for this community. Spartan Logistics believes Fort Smith will play an important role in the company's strategic plan. To have a world-class company like Spartan Logistics permanently located on that property will help bring that area of Fort Smith back to life." said Tim Allen, President of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Spartan Logistics
Spartan Logistics is a second generation family business with over 25 year's experience supply chain solutions. Founded in Columbus, Ohio, Spartan employs over 300 team members and operates 17 locations totaling 3.0M square feet in nine cities in 4 states. With facilities in Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Toledo, our footprint completely covers the entire state of Ohio. We have additional locations in Indiana, South Carolina and Arkansas.

Our mission is to provide Great Logistics Service, to Happy Customers, resulting in Full Buildings, staffed by Passionate Team Members.

Spartan is an asset-based owner and operator of industrial real estate with a sales focus on handling of fast-moving food grade materials, glass, paper, and automotive inventories. Most of our locations have experience in food and beverage and AIB certification.

In addition to warehousing, Spartan provides full-service transportation. This allows Spartan to provide seamless pick-up, storage and delivery to our customers. We continuously improve supply chain flow for our customers by providing quality service and value added contributions such as packing, quality control, co-packing, EDI integration and inventory management.

We operate in 3 separate business silos:
Spartan Logistics - Warehouse Operations and contract services: Spartanwarehouse.com
Logan Creek Construction- Warehouse construction and development: LoganCreekConstruction.com
Industrial Developers Ltd- Real estate brokerage and property management: IndusDevelop.com

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