Cross-dock facility planned in Lakeland

Cross-dock facility planned in Lakeland The Saddle Creek Corp. said Tuesday it will build a 98-600-square-foot high-volume cross-dock facility in Lakeland as part of expansion plans for its distribution services.
   Company officials from the Lakeland-based third-party logistics company said industrial space in Lakeland is tight, so Saddle Creek decided to develop its own facility. The new distribution center is being built with an eye on future growth, and will exceed current demand by about 40 percent.
   Saddle Creek said the new facility is targeted primarily for a fresh product customer's expectations of double-digit growth.
   The design of the new facility is also expected to increase productivity.
   'Designing the facility exclusively as a true cross-dock tailored to meet the customer's requirements will result in labor productivity gains of approximately 15 percent to 20 percent. More importantly, it provides the ability to accommodate our customer’s projected business growth,' said Tom Patterson, senior vice president, warehouse operations.
   The new building will be ready by August and will operate 24 hours a day, five days a week, the company said.