FedEx Breaks Ground On Little Rock Distribution Center

In a snow-covered field in Southwest Little Rock, FedEx Ground laid the groundwork Thursday for a new 300,000-square foot automated distribution center that will employ more than 160 full- and part-time workers once the facility opens in August 2016.

Several FedEx Ground officials were joined at the frigid groundbreaking ceremony by a host of local, state and congressional officials, including Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola, U.S. Senator Tom Cotton, Rep. French Hill, Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin, and Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde.

Don Davis, managing director for FedEx’s Mississippi Valley regional operations, said the new state-of-the-art facility is part of the transportation and delivery giant’s $3 billion national network expansion plans, which will include 560 hubs and local pickup-and-delivery stations across the U.S. The Little Rock project will consolidate and expand district operations, he said.

“I thank you for coming out to celebrate the building of this 300,000 square foot facility in Little Rock. We have outgrown our previous facility about three-fold,” Davis told the shivering crowd of about 100 people. “This (distribution center) means we will continue to be able to bring world-class service to Little Rock and the surrounding area.”

After Davis finished speaking, Stodola thanked the FedEx officials and employees at the ceremony for bringing the new facility to Southwest Little Rock. “I can’t tell you how important this is, not only as it relates to upgrading and expansion of FedEx, but also to the city of Little Rock,” Stodola said.

Stodola also made light of the fact that FedEx founder and CEO Fred Smith actually started the overnight express and delivery giant in Little Rock in 1971, but moved the Fortune 100 company to Memphis two years later because the Little Rock Airport Commission refused to build another runway.

Today, FedEx has annual revenues exceeding $45 billion, employs more than 31,000 workers in the Memphis area, and was recently listed as the No. 12 ranked company on Fortune’s list of “The World’s Most Admired Companies.”

“There was a time, long before I was mayor, and long before (City Director) Joan Adcock was here, for whatever reason our Airport Commission took a pass on building an extra runway – and we now know what that meant to Fred Smith and Memphis,” Stodola said jokingly.

But the mayor also praised the collaborative efforts of local and state officials who worked with FedEx officials to make the new center a reality.

“This is one fish that is not going to get away from Little Rock. When this first became a possibility, like a laser beam, we were focused on trying to make sure we could make this a reality for you,” the mayor said. “It did take a lot of work, but with great cooperation from the business community, we worked to make sure to get this done. It is significant to the city of Little Rock and Central Arkansas.”

Following Stodola, Cotton, Hill and Griffin all thanked the FedEx officials present at the groundbreaking, and applauded the fact that new, good-paying jobs would be added to the local and state economy. “This will not just be good for today, but will be good for the long-term,” Cotton said.

Van Tilbury, chairman of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, said the efforts to bring the FedEx facility to Little Rock began “in earnest” nearly two years ago. He also praised the cooperative effort to bring the distribution center to central Arkansas.

Once construction begins at the 22-acre site, a new street called Industry Parkway which will link with Alexander Road to the south and Loop Road to the east. When the sprawling facility is operational, workers will be able to process more than 15,000 packages per hour, FedEx officials said. In addition, the local delivery area will be reach as far north as Bradford, south to Star City, east to Brinkley and west to Morrilton.