ORLANDO, Fla. — In two weeks, Food Lion plans to reopen its Dunn, N.C., distribution center, severely damaged by a tornado nine months ago, and will turn on the refrigeration by Feb. 18, said Gerald Greenleaf, vice president, distribution and transportation, Delhaize America.
The facility’s grocery operation resumed operating about four weeks after the tornado hit, but its perishable operation was parceled out to other Food Lion DCs after refrigeration systems were disabled, Greenleaf said yesterday at the Supply Chain Conference here sponsored by the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Marketing Institute, during a session on “Business Continuity in the Wake of Natural Disaster.” All inventory will now return to the Dunn DC.
Most employees at the facility continued to be employed within the Food Lion network following the tornado. “That’s pretty cool to be able to do after you wake up and find your building has been destroyed,” said Greenleaf.
The rebuilt DC will feature a fitness center and enhanced offices, said Lou DeLorenzo, Food Lion’s Southeast regional distribution director, who also spoke at the session. “It will be the best DC in the network — the envy.”
