IKEA looks to build second Joliet DC

The Swedish furniture retailer said the proposed combined distribution hub would serve the inventory needs of its stores throughout the U.S. Midwest.    Swedish furniture retailer IKEA has submitted a proposal to the City of Joliet, Ill., to construct a second distribution center to accompany a previously announced terminal it plans to open in summer 2017.
   In February, IKEA advanced the development of its previously approved 1.4-million-square-foot Midwest DC on 72 acres it purchased in 2008 at the Laraway Crossings Business Park in Joliet, 48 miles southwest of Chicago. The company is now proposing another, similar-sized facility on 62 acres that it hopes to purchase adjacent to the west of the currently planned first building.
   This combined distribution hub would serve the inventory needs of IKEA stores throughout the U.S. Midwest, as well as customer fulfillment. “Goods received by the Joliet facilities will reflect the nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items currently sold at all IKEA stores worldwide,” the company said in a statement.
   “These two Joliet facilities will enhance the current distribution network comprised of two distribution centers on the west coast and three on the east. Its central location will allow goods to be received at coastal ports from both Asia and Europe and then transported inland to the Joliet warehouses. Also, proximity to a nearby railroad intermodal will provide additional long-term transportation options,” the company added.
   This project will be the fifth significant investment for IKEA in Illinois. Besides the already planned Joliet DC and new proposed terminal, there are two IKEA stores in the Chicagoland area, one each in Bolingbrook and Schaumburg. In 2014, IKEA said it would purchase a 49-turbine wind farm in Hoopeston, Ill., that’s expected to be operational this spring.