Gray Begins Construction on Clarks Jobsite

Clarks Shoes’ expansion underway in Hanover, Pa., a Gray project, was featured in The Evening Sun, Hanover, Pa. According to the article, the new 451,000 s.f. distribution center will be capable of handling volumes of up to 50 million pairs of shoes each year and will reach nearly 80 feet in height to minimize the amount of land needed in the expansion. The new facility will be located across from the current Clarks location in Hanover and will likely employ 50 to 75 new workers.

Gray Construction, ranked 8th among the U.S. Top Distribution Contractors was selected by Clarks Shoes to design and build the new distribution facility. Upon completion, Gray will seek LEED certification on behalf of Clarks. If you have distribution construction needs, please contact Steve Summers, Executive Vice President, Distribution Market at summers@gray.com.

Please read The Evening Sun article below.

Clarks’ Hanover-area expansion begins

By TIM STONESIFER

An international company has begun construction of a larger Hanover-area facility that’s expected to add more than 50 new jobs.

The Clarks Companies, North America has broken ground on its new distribution center in Conewago Township, to be located across from the current Clarks location on Kindig Lane. Work at the site began last Wednesday, according to a release from the company.

The new facility – a logistics center capable of handling volumes of up to 50 million pairs of shoes each year – will stretch over 451,000 square feet and reach nearly 80 feet in height, according to the release. The company has said the building’s considerable height is to minimize the amount of land, or “footprint,” needed in the expansion.

Site manager Rob Shipp, with Gray Construction, gives a tour of the construction site at the Clarks expansion on Kindig lane just outside Hanover. The ground breaking occurred last week. (THE EVENING SUN SHANE DUNLAP)The project is expected to be completed and the building occupied by the end of 2012.

“The groundbreaking marks a huge first step in bringing this building to life,” said Jim Salzano, president of Clarks Companies, North America. “After years of planning, we’re seeing the site being prepared for construction. It’s very exciting.”

Clarks vice president of logistics, Leonard Bucher, has said the new local facility will likely employ about 50 to 75 new workers from the area, increasing Clarks’ total employment in Hanover to around 500.

And Bucher said when it came time for Clarks’ officials to decide where in the country to locate such an important site, the choice to keep it in Hanover was an easy one.

“Quite frankly the decision to keep the facility in Hanover was truly related to the people we employ and the dedication of Hanover’s workforce,” he said. “There’s no better place to have this facility than in Hanover, simply because of the people.”

The Clarks Companies, North America, is a subsidiary of C&J Clark, Limited, of Somerset, England, and is based in Newton Upper Falls, Mass. At the end of the 1970s, C&J Clark went on an expansion drive and acquired the Hanover Shoe manufacturing and retail business in 1978. Clarks bought the Center Square store in 1983.

The upcoming construction will use leading-edge technology and help support a growing demand from customers and retailers, according to the release, which also notes the new building will be in compliance with the latest standards for environmental friendliness.

The job will be carried out by several area companies, the release said, in order to bolster the local economy.

“It’s important for us to keep as much of the business local as possible,” Salzano said. “We want to have the surrounding communities involved.”