Mohawk Plans Columbus, OH Distribution Hub

Columbus, OH, Oct. 31--Mohawk Industries plans to consolidate and expand its regional distribution center at a $10 million build-to-suit complex planned near Rickenbacker International Airport, according to Columbus Business First. Mohawk tentatively plans to move two facilities from Columbus' Westbelt industrial district into a 350,000-square-foot building. The company plans to relocate 100 workers to the site by next fall and create an additional 50 jobs over the following five years. The planned center at Eastport would replace a 135,000-square-foot facility that Mohawk leases and a 140,000-square-foot distribution center. Fed One Dublin President Bob Biondi said the development company will purchase the 18.3-acre site from its joint venture with Commodity Logistics and develop the property itself. The project could expand, with a 200,000-square-foot addition possible on an adjacent ten acres. Biondi credited the park's location within Rickenbacker Foreign Trade Zone 138 as a key ingredient in landing the project. "I can't put my finger on one thing, but the foreign trade zone was a factor," he said. "It's really the site (Mohawk) wanted because of its exposure to Route 317 and accessibility." Gus Crim, president of Joseph Skilken Realty who represented Mohawk in the tentative deal, confirmed the importance of the foreign trade zone to the site's selection. Eastport "was one of the few sites with a foreign trade zone already there," Crim said.