Metro gets new Quebec fresh and frozen distribution center under way

Canadian retailer Metro Inc. has completed the first phase of a multiyear project with the opening of an automated distribution center for fresh and frozen foods in Terrebonne, Quebec, just north of Montreal.

The 600,000-square-foot cold DC—stretching more than 10 football fields and standing nine stories high—houses two temperature-controlled zones for approximately 7,000 fresh and frozen products, Montreal-based Metro said late Wednesday. The automated facility will supply about 700 grocery stores.

Announced in March 2020, the automated fresh and frozen DC in Terrebonne is part of a $420 million, five-year investment plan in Quebec that also includes the enlargement of an existing produce and dairy DC in Laval, slated for completion in 2024.

“Our new automated distribution center in Terrebonne represents the future of Metro’s fresh and frozen product distribution in Quebec,” President and CEO Eric La Flèche said in a statement. “It will strengthen our market position, generate new opportunities for our company and employees, and enable us to remain competitive while pursuing our growth.”

That project comes in addition to a $400 million investment in Ontario, announced in October 2017, to modernize Metro’s Toronto DCs. Metro broke ground on a Toronto-area frozen DC in Etobicoke, Ontario, in September 2019 and opened the facility in early January 2022.

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La Flèche reported strong results from the operation when announcing third-quarter results back in August. “Turning to the modernization of our supply chain, we continue to see productivity improve in both our fresh phase one and frozen distribution centers in Toronto,” he said in a conference call with analysts. (Call transcript provided by AlphaSense.)

The Terrebonne DC uses automation from Germany-based Witron, which also provided technology for Metro’s Ontario projects. The automated system will deliver efficiency gains that will translate into better service for stores as well as an enhanced experience for customers by providing more products and variety, the retailer noted. Other partners for the project included general contractor Divco and Aubin Pélissier for the refrigeration system.

“Our new automated distribution center will help improve the quality of service and products sent to grocery stores, thanks to greater order accuracy and reduced handling time, as well as improving the resilience of our supply chain,” commented Caroline Larocque, vice president of logistics and distribution for Quebec at Metro. “We are now even better-equipped to provide the right product, at the right time, to the right store and to do so efficiently.”

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Metro added that the Terrebonne facility also brings a more modern working environment in the warehouse and offices, including improved safety and amenities such as a cafeteria with meals cooked on-site, a fitness room and a daycare center that’s due to open next year.

Overall, Metro’s retail network includes 975 food stores under the Metro, Metro Plus, Super C, Food Basics, Adonis, Marché Richelieu and Première Moisson banners, as well as 645 drugstores and pharmacies under the Jean Coutu, Brunet, Metro Pharmacy and Food Basics Pharmacy banners in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick.