SunOpta Opens New Food Distribution Facility

SunOpta Opens New Food Distribution Facility

TORONTOSunOpta Inc. opened anew, state-of-the art, 135,000- square-foot distribution center here. The newfacility, the largest of its type in Canada, is dedicated to the distribution oforganic, natural and kosher foods and is expandable to 185,000 square feetshould future growth be necessary.

SunOpta will consolidate three of its organic, natural andkosher grocery distributors into the facility, including Supreme Foods,Snapdragon Natural Foods and Kofman-Barenholtz.

Steve Easterbrook, president of the Canadian food distributiongroup, said, The new facility will incorporate leading edge systems tooptimize customer service including voice technology, radio frequency orderpicking and warehouse management systems tailored to optimizing efficiency inthe food distribution environment. Environmentally friendly constructionmaterials utilized in the building include recyclable carpet tiles, corkflooring, sensors and low-VOC paints, as well as wallboards that use recycledpaper. Use of the materials is consistent with SunOptas values, focusing onorganic, natural and kosher foods and supporting the environment.

SunOptas organic produce line will continue to bedistributed from the companys existing Pro Organics distribution center inToronto.