Food service company to add 100 jobs in Plant City

December 21, 2015

 
 
Alexis Muellner | Tampa Bay Business Journal
 
 
Gordon Food Service is expanding in Plant City, by adding 100 new jobs and another 160,000 square feet of cold storage and distribution space.
 
The addition will come to its existing facilities at 1410 Gordon Food Service Drive, a release said.
 
“Plant City’s central location and easy access to the I-4 corridor provided us with the perfect location to expand our distribution center and increase services to our customers across Central Florida,” said Kirk Zell, general manager of Gordon Food Service-Florida, in a statement.
 
The company’s rapid growth in Central Florida soon outpaced capacity at the Plant City Distribution Center, driving the need for more cold storage space. The expansion includes 90,000 square feet of cooler space and 70,000 square feet of freezer space.
 
Construction on the expansion is underway and is expected to be finished in 2016. The company joins an increasing number of companies such as Dart Container, Toufayan Bakeries, fitlife foods and others who benefit from eastern Hillsborough County’s proximity to major interstates, Port Tampa Bay and CSX rail lines, as well as the availability of a skilled workforce.
 
Gordon Food Service is a 118-year old private company headquartered in Michigan; it established operations in Plant City in 2010. It distributes food products to operators such as restaurants, schools, universities, and health care facilities across Florida’s central region.
 
In 2012, the city of Plant City approved a moratorium on the collection of transportation mobility fees to increase the community’s competitiveness in pursuing high-impact economic development projects. The Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp. assisted Gordon Food Service in taking advantage of this fee waiver, helping the company save an estimated $45,000 in expansion-related costs.
 
“[Gordon Food Service growth is a] testament to our efforts to make Plant City one of the easiest places to do business in Central Florida,” said Randy Larson, chairman of the Plant City Economic Development Corp .