US Foods announced plans to expand its distribution center in Fife, Washington. The expansion project kicks off in late January 2016 and will nearly double the size of its current facility, allowing the company to expand its customer base and better serve chefs, restaurateurs and foodservice operators throughout the Seattle area.

"As the vibrant culinary market in Seattle continues to grow, US Foods is positioning itself to continue to be a significant player in the area," said Matt Reynolds, president, Mountain West Area, US Foods. "Once complete, our expanded facility will allow us to double our capacity for product storage making it easier for us to bring our innovative, on-trend products and tried and true favorites to more customers throughout Seattle and beyond."

US Foods has operated out of its 123,000 square foot facility since 1998. The planned expansion will increase the size to more than 216,000 square feet. The majority of additional space will be used for increased product storage to offer customers an expanded product offering and more readily meet their needs.

Among the many improvements to the distribution center, will be a state-of-the-art kitchen and training center that can be used for product demonstrations and customer ideation and a technology center where US Foods customers can learn about the company's industry-leading mobile apps and web-based business solutions.

The expansion project will also incorporate many energy and environmental improvements, such as a highly efficient cascade refrigeration system and energy saving high-output fluorescent and LED lighting. The company is making every effort to use locally sourced and recycled content furnishings and building materials. The project is expected to be complete in fall 2016.

The Seattle distribution center is home to more than 300 employees and serves thousands of customers throughout the Seattle market and surrounding area, including independent restaurants, healthcare and hospitality entities, government and educational institutions.

Source: US Foods