Dot Foods plans expansion in Western Maryland, 100 new jobs

09/13/2016| Amanda Winters

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09/13/2016 | Amanda Winters

Dot Foods, the first and largest food industry redistributor in the nation, is expanding its operations in Washington County and plans to add 100 new jobs by 2023.

The company is scheduled to begin a two-phase project in spring 2017 and anticipates completing the expansion in 2019. The majority of the 100 new jobs will be high-wage warehouse positions for Dot Foods and Class A drivers for Dot's trucking subsidiary, Dot Transportation, Inc.

"This expansion of space and workforce will allow Dot Foods Maryland to boost its capacity from the current 450 million pounds per year to 700 million pounds per year," said Brian Duffield, Dot Foods' Maryland general manager. "This expansion shows Dot's continued commitment to the Williamsport and Washington County areas."

Phase one of the project is scheduled to begin in early spring 2017 and will take place at a recently purchased property in Williamsport. Dot Foods will lease the location to Dot Transportation, Inc. where it will house a new truck maintenance facility. Phase two is slated to begin in spring 2018 at the company's existing Williamsport facility and includes renovating the office, refrigeration, and freezer space and expanding the warehouse to add additional dry space. The company anticipates investing approximately $35 million to expand the distribution center by 100,000 square feet to a total of 350,000 square feet.

"The continued investment by a company with a national and global footprint like Dot Foods is a tremendous asset to Western Maryland and our state as a whole," said Governor Larry Hogan. "Our administration is committed to helping businesses like Dot Foods, which is providing outstanding job opportunities for our citizens and contributing to the positive growth of our economy."

"We are proud that an industry leader like Dot Foods sees the tremendous value of growing in Maryland and in particular, along the I-81 corridor, which provides access to millions of customers within an overnight drive," said Maryland Commerce Secretary Mike Gill.