An illustration of the planned Kraft Heinz $400 million distribution center in DeKalb.

Kraft Heinz plans to join a growing corporate presence in DeKalb with construction of a $400 million distribution center near Interstate 88.

A multinational food company which boasted $26 billion in sales last year, Kraft Heinz announced on July 13 that it plans to open one of the largest automated  facilities in North America and bring 150 jobs to the region.

“We are very excited that Kraft Heinz will bring its worldwide reputation for quality products and services to our community,” said DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes. “The construction and post-construction employment opportunities they bring will have a positive and lasting impact on our residents, and this positive impact is compounded by the additional diversification of our tax base, which will spur further interest in DeKalb for many years to come.”

Kraft Heinz, whose products range from hot dogs, beverages and cheese products to the iconic Jell-O brand — would join Amazon, Target, 3M, Ferrara Candy, Nestle and a Facebook data center with major operations along Interstate 88.

“The DeKalb distribution center is expected to play a critical role in our larger distribution strategy, moving more than 60 percent of Kraft Heinz dry goods in North America through our automated facilities,”  said Carlos Abrams-Rivera, Executive Vice President and President, North America at Kraft Heinz. in a statement. “It’s a testament to the dynamic, out-of-the-box thinking of our supply chain teams whose work enables us to operate with greater efficiency and agility every day,” Abrams-Rivera added.

The 775,000 square-foot distribution center will be located in the ChicagoWest Business Center. Planned features would include state-of-the-art automation technology and national railway access, enabling Kraft Heinz to drive greater supply chain efficiencies and to more quickly distribute its products to retail and food service customers.

The facility’s design includes a 24/7 automated storage and retrieval system with the ability to drive twice the volume for Kraft Heinz customers, distributing more than 60 percent of the Company’s foodservice business and approximately 30 percent of all dry goods.

It is also expected to contribute to Kraft Heinz’s ability to achieve its broader ESG (environmental, social, and governance) ambitions to reduce its operational environmental footprint through sustainable technology and solutions to reduce the waste produced at the facility and minimize its overall environmental impact.

“We’re driving end-to-end transformation across our entire supply chain, investing in automated technology and digitized solutions to increase the agility of our logistics operations,” said Erin Mitchell, Vice President of Logistics and Head of Network Restructuring at Kraft Heinz.

“The construction of our new DeKalb distribution center is the latest example of this transformation in action. We have designed it to help ensure the delivery of our delicious, innovative and iconic products at the right time for our customers and consumers for years to come,” Mitchell added.

Kraft Heinz has partnered with Trammell Crow Company, a global commercial real estate developer; Krusinski Construction Company as general contractor; Daifuku, as integrated logistics automation provider; and the City of DeKalb and the DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation (DCEDC) on the development of the facility.

“Kraft Heinz will be located near other large-scale distribution companies in DeKalb,” said Josh Udelhofen, Senior Vice President with TCC Chicago. “The area benefits from a strong labor pool, Enterprise Zone incentives, as well as an ideal location along I-88. We look forward to reaching the next construction milestone and moving this project along to deliver the facility to Kraft Heinz in 2025.”