Saddle Creek Corp., a nationwide third-party logistics provider, announced today that the company has opened a West Coast distribution center for Riviana Foods Inc. and New World Pasta Company, the North American subsidiaries of leading Spanish food group Ebro Puleva.
The distribution center initially will occupy nearly half of a 432,000-square-foot, shared-space facility in Ontario, Calif. The new facility will enable Riviana and New World Pasta to consolidate multiple California operations into a single, optimum site.
The site, approximately 40 miles east of Los Angeles, was chosen based on the results of a network optimization study and site selection process conducted by Saddle Creek and Ebro. Available shared-space facilities that met the companies’ requirements for location, size, yard space, truck doors, rail service and capacity for growth were identified and evaluated. Site selection and development are part of the integrated logistics services that make Saddle Creek unique.
“A shared-space environment was important to us because it allows us to control operational costs while giving us the greatest flexibility to accommodate growth and give our customers great service,” said Joseph Marelli, vice president, logistics, for Ebro North America. “We’ve seen the benefits of this environment firsthand in our Lakeland, Fla., facility. Saddle Creek’s successful operation of that facility, along with their effective start-up process, ability to replicate systems integration, and experienced management team, made them a natural choice to manage our California DC.”
“This facility enables us to satisfy the growth initiatives for Ebro Puleva while giving Saddle Creek a firm foothold in California’s ‘Inland Empire,’” said Stephen Cook, vice president of marketing and business development at Saddle Creek. “Investing in this prime inland real estate is part of our strategic plan for growth and an illustration of our commitment to doing ‘whatever it takes’ to meet our customers needs.”
The transition to the new site is expected to be completed this month. Saddle Creek will provide both warehousing and transportation services at the facility.
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About Saddle Creek Corp.
Saddle Creek Corp., headquartered in Lakeland, Fla., provides integrated logistics, warehousing, transportation, and contract packaging services nationwide. For more information, visit www.saddlecrk.com.
About Riviana Foods Inc.
Riviana Foods Inc. (www.riviana.com), headquartered in Houston, Texas is one of the largest processors, marketers and distributors of branded and private label rice products in the United States. Its principal brands include Mahatma®, Carolina®, Minute®, Success® and Gourmet House®.
About New World Pasta Company
New World Pasta Company (www.nwpasta.com), headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is a leading marketer and supplier of branded dry pasta and noodles in the United States and Canada, with leading national and regional brands like Ronzoni®, Healthy Harvest®, Smart Taste®, Creamette®, Catelli®, San Giorgio®, Prince®, Skinner®, American Beauty® and Light & Fluffy®.
About Ebro Puleva, S.A.
Ebro Puleva, S.A. (www.ebropuleva.com), headquartered in Madrid, Spain is the leading group in the Spanish food sector in terms of turnover, profit, market capitalization and international presence. It is the world’s leader in the rice sector and number two in the international pasta sector with leading brands in each of these sectors.