New Belgium is still in the process of building out its new brewery, packaging hall and tasting room in Asheville, N.C., but one critical component of the expansion project is now complete.
The brewery, which is based out of Fort Collins, Colo., announced that it has completed construction on a 141,000 sq. ft. distribution center built on 13 acres of land that, when open, will serve the company’s East Coast markets as it expands nationally.
The plant, built in conjunction with ARCO National Construction, includes 88,000 sq. ft. of refrigerated space, or enough to keep 12 million bottles and cans and 50,000 full kegs cold, the company said. The facility also comes complete with 9,000 sq. ft. of outdoor covered storage area, 44,000 sq. ft. of space for raw materials, and office space. New Belgium, which is pursuing LEED certification, added that the building is also designed to use 25 percent less energy than a traditional distribution plant.
The facility, which is expected to begin shipping beer by the end of this year, will employ 40 of the 140 projected New Belgium employees in Asheville.
“Our team is quickly expanding and now includes our distribution center manager,” said Philip Pollick, Asheville packaging manager, in a news release. “Come late summer, we’ll be bringing on more coworkers, making this all come alive.”
The company invested $13.6 million into this phase of the project, it said, as part of its broader investment in Asheville of $140 million.