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Your Georgia Connection: Rich Olivier, Atlanta, GA • 1-800-409-1479
Tractor Supply Company Distribution Center Under Way By Cindy Riley CEG CORRESPONDENT
A more than 600,000-sq.-ft. (55,741 sq m) regional distribution center is under construction in Macon, Ga., and is expected to be operational by the end of 2013. Tractor Supply Company, the largest retail farm and ranch store chain in the United States, said the facility will serve stores throughout the Southeast. “We evaluated numerous sites in several states and chose Macon as the best location,” said Gregory Sandfort, president and COO of the Tennessee-based Tractor Supply Company. “We’re especially pleased that this new facility will be built in Georgia, where we have a substantial and growing presence. This new, state-of-the-art distribution center will replace a smaller, leased facility in Braselton. This new facility will better support our growth requirements and enable us to continue to grow in Georgia.” Work on the site began in July 2012, and the structure should be completed by summer. H&M Construction Company, headquartered in Jackson, Tenn., and one of the largest design-builders of distribution facilities in the country, serves as the general contractor. “We’re responsible for the full design and construction of the facility, with about 40 people employed in our architect and engineering office,” said Senior Project Manager James Kirkland. “Beginning with concept development and designed around the material handling system designed and installed by Hy-Tek, H&M provided full-service design services for all the major trades, includ-
Photo courtesy of Tractor Supply Company
Work on the site began in July 2012, and the structure should be completed by summer. H&M Construction Company, headquartered in Jackson, Tenn., serves as the general contractor.
“This new, state-of-the-art distribution center will replace a smaller, leased facility in Braselton. This new facility will better support our growth requirements and enable us to continue to grow in Georgia.” Gregory Sandfort
Tractor Supply Company
ing civil, architectural, structural, electrical and mechanical. H&M then competitively bid out the trades for Tractor Supply, and is currently managing all construction sub-contractors on the site.” According to Kirkland, “Our first priority is always safety, and ensuring a safe project site for all construction personnel is always
an important and primary task. As with most other projects these days, the schedule is the biggest challenge. All critical path activities must be carefully and thoughtfully coordinated from the beginning to the end. We rely heavily on all team members on the project making reliable commitments to one another, and we track the time-
ly completion of these tasks on a daily and weekly basis. “The facility is a conventional steel building with a single-ply TPO roof and cast on-site tilt-up concrete walls. It’s designed structurally to accommodate all equipment needs, and has state-of-theart ventilation, including HVLS fans. It incorporates windows in
the warehouse walls for day lighting, and it utilizes energy efficient lighting and HVAC motors. It also includes support offices, and parking for nearly 400 trailers,” stated Kirkland. The project involves moving more than 200,000 yds. (182,880 m) of dirt, with more than 20,000 cu. yds. (15,291 cu m) of concrete placed. Several hundred workers have been on the job throughout construction, with a peak of more than 150 during the busiest sequences of construction. “Early on, a number of days were lost due to rain during the major site work operations,” said Kirkland, “but the lost days have not affected the overall project schedule. Once the pad is stabilized, much of the weather risk is minimized. Once the roof is on, nearly all of the weather risk is avoided.” Kirkland added, “It’s really hard to grasp the size of these modern distribution facilities — 650,000 square feet is about 15 acres under roof. Modern distribution facilities allow tall storage and multiple levels of workers in pick modules, which makes the footprint of the buildings a lot smaller than they could be otherwise, or would have been prior to the advancement in technology.” Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, the chairmen of the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority and the Bibb County Board of Commissioners joined Tractor Supply executives at groundbreaking ceremonies for the new facility, which will be located in the I-75 Business Park along Frank Amerson Jr. Parkway. The distrisee DISTRIBUTION page 6