MIDWAY — Toys are now serious business in Liberty County.
Hasbro held a grand opening March 19 for a new distribution facility in Liberty County at the Dorchester Commerce Park, a privately-built and financed development off Islands Highway.
The facility employs approximately 75 people and during its busiest times — as orders come in from Christmas — company officials expect its workforce to grow to 125 people.
“It is an exciting day,” said Donald Lovette, chairman of the Liberty County Board of Commissioners and a member of the Liberty County Development Authority. “We work very hard in this area to bring in a diverse economy. Having the distribution center here certainly fits into our protocol, our desires, our plans for the Liberty County Development Authority.”
The distribution center is in a 600,000 square foot building and developed by Flint. It accounts for 25% of Hasbro’s U.S. distribution footprint and will be the company’s first omni channel facility, meaning it can deliver to stores and retailers and can serve direct-to-consumer orders.
“What makes this building special is it handles all channels of Hasbro’s operation,” said Michael Jacobs, president of GXO for the Americas and Asia Pacific. “It is their first building of the future and it handles the east coast of the United States. This is the model of what Hasbro will build across the United States. This the starting point with Hasbro for us.”
GXO, a logistics company, has had a partnership with Hasbro for the last five years and is operating its supply chain.
“Today is an extremely important day,” Jacobs said. “It’s giving us the opportunity at GXO to partner with a world class company like Hasbro. As we determine what is the right layout, what are the right solutions to create a world-class operation, it takes a lot of planning on the Hasbro side and the GXO side. And the result is this — a fantastic, world-class, 600,000 square foot operation employing 75 people and going up to 125 during peak Christmas season.”
Jacobs and Hasbro officials also were delighted with opening the new distribution facility in Liberty County.
“Liberty County is the perfect place, a strategic place, for us to have this operation,” Jacobs said. “We’re thrilled to be a part of this community. There is no better mission a company can have than to deliver toys to children and that is why we are so thrilled to be a part of the Hasbro family.”
Having a company with Hasbro’s brand recognition means multiple things for Liberty County to Lovette. First, it’s “jobs, jobs and more jobs,” he said.
“The presence of a major distributor here, with that kind of name and that kind of clout, will bring more attention to Liberty County,” Lovette added. “It’s a major win for the county to have a name as recognizable as Hasbro in our community.”
Dorchester Commerce Park, with its three buildings, is just 33 miles from the Savannah port and 95 miles from Jacksonville. Though Hasbro’s operations are going into a privately-owned and privately-built building, the Hasbro nameplate is a welcome addition to the county’s economy, Lovette added.
“We were elated to have a national brand come to Liberty County,” he said. “It fits into our plan. It fits into our desire, our goals, our mission to diversify Liberty County’s economy. We think it will be a tremendous boost to this industrial park. It all fits together.”
