Supermarket giant Woolworths has unveiled its new Heathwood Distribution Centre, which provided 200 local jobs during its construction and has now added 300 ongoing jobs to the local employment market.
The $184-million, 42,000 sqm temperature-controlled facility is about the size of three Suncorp Stadium playing fields with sustainable features including 4,000 solar panels that can fully supply the facility’s power needs during peak periods. There is also a discharge rainwater tank that can collect 3 million litres of rainwater and a provision for electric cars and trucks.
With these features in place, Heathwood Distribution Centre targets a 5 Star Green Star certification for sustainability which will make it Woolworths Group’s first 5 Green Star certified Distribution Centre in Queensland.
Constructed by Woolworths supply chain arm, Primary Connect, the Heathwood Distribution Centre will distribute 4,000 frozen and chilled products coming from 400 different suppliers to the supermarket chain’s more than 260 Queensland and northern New South Wales locations.
The building is also co-located and connected with its meat supplier, Hilton Foods Australia, through an automated air bridge, allowing the distribution facility to remove up to 390 truck movements from Brisbane roads each week.
“The importance of a strong, responsive and resilient supply chain has come into sharp focus during the pandemic and the most recent extreme weather events,” Brad Banducci, Woolworths Group CEO said.
“As well as strengthening our network capability, this new state-of-the-art facility is an important part of our ongoing commitment to investing in Brisbane – and across broader Queensland – to support jobs growth and help us deliver high-quality products to our customers fresher, faster and more efficiently than ever before.”
Heathwood Distribution Centre will expand the supermarket giant’s Queensland distribution network that is now servicing 280 Woolworths stores across Qld and northern NSW.