Lowe’s building in Lebanon impressive in its scale

Albany Democrat Herald - Albany,OR,USA
A central inventory management computer system will ensure that if a store
in Northern California needs a special style of doorknob, it is available
at the ...

LEBANON — How big is the new $100 million Lowe’s Distribution Center under construction north of Lebanon?

Imagine that your favorite football team — say, the Seattle Seahawks — wants to play an exhibition game there. They could. And so could the other 31 NFL teams — at the same time — with enough room left over for several concession stands.

The 1.4 million-square-foot building encompasses about 33 acres under roof, according to manager Andy Johnson.

When fully operational, the center will service 80 Lowe’s home improvement stores in Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Montana and Northern California.

Johnson, 37, has spent his entire career with the company, and the term “Lowe’s culture” comes up frequently in conversation.

Johnson joined Lowe’s when he was just 19 years old at a distribution center about 20 miles from his hometown of Carrollton, Ga.

“I wanted a stable, long-term career. I found that with Lowe’s,” Johnson said. “This company will help you reach your goals.”

There were 350 Lowe’s stores when Johnson started. Today, there are 1,385. His career has taken him to Wyoming, Ohio, Georgia and, six months ago, to Oregon.

With just 60 days to go before inventory begins arriving, workers are busy installing the 4½ miles of conveyors that will transport items within the 1,737-foot-long, 735-foot-wide building. Some 72 aisles of towering bright yellow and dark blue steel shelving rise more than 30 feet into the air, stopping well below the 45-foot ceiling.

“Beep, beep, beep...”

Horns sound almost continuously as a dozen or so new employees practice driving electric pallet jacks. There are more than 230 pieces of rolling stock in the center, and items can be stored at any of 80,000 locations.

Sweet Home High School graduate Adam Knight is among the trainees. Knight smoothly slides the jack’s arms under a stack of wooden pallets, lifts them a few inches off the floor and moves them to a new location. The process is repeated over and over again until the employees feel comfortable with the equipment.

So far, more than 130 employees have been hired, but Johnson said another 370 are needed. “We’re hiring good people every day,” Johnson said. No warehouse experience is necessary, and the company will provide training, he added.

“What we’re looking for are people who are passionate about life, have integrity, respect, seek to excel and want to exceed our customers’ expectations,” Johnson said. Job seekers can go to www.lowes.com/careers or visit the employment center in Lebanon.

Other employees are busy putting barcode stickers on shelving. There are 221 receiving doors around the perimeter of the building. Incoming inventory will be delivered to the door nearest the area where those particular items will be stored. At any given time, there will be as many as 15,000 different items stocked somewhere in the giant warehouse.

Employees also visit area Lowe’s home improvement centers to see how their work in the distribution center will affect store staff and their customers.

Shifts will begin May 5 and inventory will begin arriving on June 4. The first shipments from the center are expected to go out on July 9. Once fully operational, the center will run 24/7, 365 days per year. Staff will work on three shifts. Although Johnson declined to talk about wages, he said the company offers “a total wage package with attractive benefits,” including a menu-style insurance program. He said wages are competitive based on mid-valley norms.

Although he doesn’t know every employee, Johnson calls most by their first name as he strolls through the building. He shuns riding a golf cart because he wants to interact with each employee as much as possible. “I want to know about their kids and how things are going at work,” he said.

He walks and talks briskly, issuing greetings to staff members, counseling a supervisor to make sure trainees do a task safely — every time — even during practice, and picks up any loose nut or bolt left on the floor.

The distribution center will start off slowly, serving perhaps 20 stores, and gradually ramp up, Johnson said. It is the 13th center companywide. During any given shift, employees will load 45 to 50 outbound semis and unload up to 100 trucks. “In 24 hours, we could easily handle 200 to 300 trucks overall,” Johnson said.

A central inventory management computer system will ensure that if a store in Northern California needs a special style of doorknob, it is available at the distribution center. The West Coast has been served by a distribution center in Perris, Calif., about 900 miles south of here. Northwest stores have been serviced from a center in Cheyenne, Wyo.

“We are adding major value to this area, and we want to be a positive influence here,” Johnson said. “We will work very hard to do that.”




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