By Ben Antonius | Daily Republic | March 06, 2009
FAIRFIELD - Cookware distribution giant Meyer Corp. will soon launch a construction project to give Fairfield the 'largest automated warehouse west of the Mississippi.'
It may not be a high-profile title, but it's one the city is happy to hold.
City Manager Sean Quinn boasted of Meyer's plans on Thursday, saying it was a sign of Fairfield's economic progress during a national recession.
Meyer has been working for nearly four years on the plans, which will result in more than 300,000 square feet of new warehouse space at its Beck Avenue site. It had to take particular care crafting its expansion because the new space is near sensitive wetlands.
The company specializes in distributing range-top cookware. Its products also include bakeware, cutlery, kitchen tools and gadgets, largely manufactured in affiliate factories in Thailand, Italy and China.
Company representatives were not available for comment.
In Fairfield, the company plans to build two separate warehouses to add to its 363,000-square-foot shipping center at the business park. To accommodate the expansion, the city will abandon part of Meyer Way, the public street that serves the facility.
'The two warehouses would be built essentially where the cul-de-sac is now,' said Rick Hancock, associate planner for the city.
The project itself is a major undertaking. The facility will be an automated warehouse, which means it will be served by tracked robots rather than people operating forklifts. Meyer obtained permission to build as high as 100 feet and plans to do so, Hancock said.
'It is going to be huge,' he said.
Hancock said the company first began work on the expansion in 2005 and that the process is nearly complete.
'At this point, it's waiting for the ground to dry,' he said. 'I think they have in-hand or are very shortly to receive their needed permits.'
Because the company has long had the land set aside for an expansion, the disruptions related to the project appear to be fairly minor. Meyer must install a new traffic signal at the intersection of Meyer Way and Beck Avenue and three streetlights along Beck.
Reach Ben Antonius at 427-6977 or bantonius@dailyrepublic.net.
