A M King breaks ground on ALDI divisional headquarters and distribution center in Alabama

The new facility serves four states and expands ALDI’s presence to 38 states

A M King builds new ALDI warehouse/DC/headquarters

When finished, ALDI’s new Loxley, Alabama facility will have a full solar array over the dry warehouse, which will send surplus energy back into the grid, use LED lighting throughout the building and the site and have drive-in style dock doors in the perishable docks—providing a much better seal for a thermally tight building. Photo courtesy A M King

A M King has partnered with ALDI U.S. to provide property consulting, design, and construction of ALDI’s new facility in Loxley, Ala. The 570,660-sq.-ft. divisional headquarters and distribution center will service more than 100 stores in southern Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and the Florida panhandle, which will mark the company’s presence in 38 states.

The grocery retailer, which opened its 2,000th store this past summer, is in the midst of a new wave of expansion that includes further development along the Gulf Coast. ALDI has invested more than $5 billion in a major national growth campaign over the last several years and increased its selection of produce, meats and organic options. The company has also ramped up its e-commerce offering with curbside grocery pickup, now available at 700 stores, and delivery in more than 10,000 zip codes, all without compromising its commitment to low prices.

ALDI currently operates more than 180 stores in Alabama and Florida, with four regional headquarters and distribution centers in the area. Within Alabama, a majority of the ALDI stores are located north of Montgomery. The Loxley project will signal the retailer’s first presence in Baldwin County.

ALDI and A M King partnership

“ALDI and A M King have a long and successful relationship,” says A M King Vice President of Operations Dan Crist. “A M King’s full property consulting services were instrumental to ALDI as the company was contemplating a Gulf Coast expansion. We were charged with site selection and due diligence and once the site was identified, ALDI and A M King immediately moved forward with design and construction of the facility.”

A M King worked in tandem with ALDI to determine adequate site infrastructure requirements for securing local economic development incentives. The property needed to be large enough, buildable and strategically located. Ultimately, A M King assisted ALDI in acquiring a 150-acre site just north of Interstate 10, located between Mobile, Ala. and Pensacola, Fla.

Development of this facility is a continuation of ALDI’s efforts to maximize the efficiency of their operations through facility design. There are several new elements that will be incorporated into the Loxley facility for efficiency, including:

Use of insulated metal panels in lieu of concrete tilt or precast concrete exterior panels
Optimum racking organization determined by product analysis from storage and flow perspectives
First ALDI distribution center to utilize cross-docking services
Large, unobstructed areas of glazing at the office, allowing all employees to have outdoor views
Restrooms, locker rooms and maintenance for both ambient temperature, cooler and freezer employees housed in the central core of the building

In addition, there are several design components that will facilitate social distancing. The building layout is open and unrestricted by hallways so employees can have more separation as they move about. The circulation area at the main entrance lobby is a large two-story space that does not restrict the flow of employees entering or exiting the building. Lastly, A M King developed a 2,600-sq.-ft. outdoor, flexible workspace next to break rooms and open office areas, allowing workers the opportunity to separate themselves or provide a fresh air working environment when needed.

For more information, visit A M King’s website.

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Wayne Labs has more than 30 years of editorial experience in industrial automation. He served as senior technical editor for I&CS/Control Solutions magazine for 18 years where he covered software, control system hardware and sensors/transmitters. Labs ran his own consulting business and contributed feature articles to Electronic Design, Control, Control Design, Industrial Networking and Food Engineering magazines. Before joining Food Engineering, he served as a senior technical editor for Omega Engineering Inc. Labs also worked in wireless systems and served as a field engineer for GE’s Mobile Communications Division and as a systems engineer for Bucks County Emergency Services. In addition to writing technical feature articles, Wayne covers FE’s Engineering R&D section.