IKEA Distribution Center in Illinois Awarded LEED Gold Certification

“Gray is proud to be part of the LEED Gold achievement with IKEA,” said Stephen Gray, president and CEO of Gray Construction. “Having worked with IKEA for nearly 20 years, the strong partnership between the companies truly speaks to being able to meet this great accomplishment.”

LEED certification is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement. Projects pursuing LEED certification earn points across several categories, including energy use and air quality.

“At IKEA, we value the importance of having a positive impact on the communities we are a part of,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. president. “Having our distribution center in Joliet certified LEED Gold is a prime example of how IKEA believes it can do good business while minimizing impacts on the environment. It is consistent with our goal of being energy independent by 2020.”

Located on 72 sprawling acres, the distribution facility will serve inventory needs of stores throughout the Midwestern United States, as well as customer fulfillment. The 1,250,751 s.f. facility includes the largest solar rooftop in Illinois, featuring a massive 470,545 s.f. solar array consisting of a 2.91 MW system, built with 8,966 panels. Annually, it will produce approximately 3,377,000 kWh of electricity for the building, which is the equivalent of reducing 2,513 tons of carbon dioxide which is equal to the emissions of 538 cars or providing electricity for 377 homes yearly.

About IKEA

Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered home furnishings of good design and function at low prices so the majority of people can afford them. There are currently 419 IKEA stores in 49 countries, including 48 in the U.S. IKEA has been included in rankings of “Best Companies to Work For” and strives to be an employer of choice. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information, see IKEA-USA.com.

About Gray Construction

Gray Construction is a nationally ranked engineering, architecture and construction firm with nearly 60 years of experience in distribution, manufacturing, food and beverage, automotive and retail facility construction. Currently, Gray has several large projects that are under way or recently completed including: a distribution facility for Academy Sports + Outdoors in Cookeville, Tenn.; a warehouse for Buffalo Trace Distillery featuring state-of-the-art automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) technology in Frankfort, Ky.; a meat processing and packaging facility for Kraft Heinz recently named Food Engineering’s 2018 Plant of the Year in Davenport, Iowa; and a warehouse expansion to Lydall, Inc.’s North American Thermal/Acoustical headquarters and manufacturing facility located in Hamptonville, N.C.

If you have distribution center construction needs, please contact Steve Summers, executive vice president, at ssummers@gray.com. Or, contact Jeff Bischoff, executive vice president, business development at jbischoff@gray.com.