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Tractor Supply starts construction on new distribution center in Maumelle
08/25/2022
Tractor Supply Company of Brentwood, Tennessee, has started work on a massive 1.2 million square-foot distribution center in Maumelle.
“Today’s a very exciting day for Tractor Supply and our team members,” said Hal Lawton, CEO of Tractor Supply. “We’re really honored to celebrate this day together as we hit the milestone of breaking ground on our tenth distribution center right here in Maumelle and Pulaski County.”
Lawton, along with Maumelle Mayor Caleb Norris and Arkansas Secretary of Commerce Mike Preston, each recognized Entergy Arkansas for their involvement and support.
Once completed, the $128 million facility will be Tractor Supply's largest distribution center, servicing more than 300 of its stores and creating more than more than 500 jobs.
“Thank you to the entire Tractor Supply team. Your confidence in Arkansas, your confidence in Maumelle, it’s shown by your investment,” said Preston. “You would not do this project if you didn’t have the confidence and belief in our workforce, our elected officials and our willingness and drive to get things done.”
The Entergy Arkansas Business and Economic Development team worked with the City of Maumelle and the landowners for more than three years to make the location a certified Select Site and legitimately ready for a future employer and customer.
The 121-acre site was full of opportunities – and challenges – to meet the expectations of a prospective company. It had been listed and shown – unsuccessfully - for several years before Entergy Arkansas became actively involved and worked through the necessary criteria with city officials and the landowners to certify the site.
“There were a lot of challenges in getting the site certified and in competing for the project. The groundwork Tandee White laid with our certified Select Site initiative coupled with Chris Murphy’s work on the certification and project recruitment were key determinants in Maumelle’s success. The responsiveness among our central Arkansas engineering and distribution operations team is really helping us deliver,” said Danny Games, director of business development for Entergy Arkansas.
Tractor Supply was founded in 1938 and has evolved from a mail order tractor parts catalog into the largest rural lifestyle retailer in the U.S. with more than 2,000 stores in 49 states and more than 48,000 team members.
The retail industry has seen many challenges in recent years due to supply chain issues. The new distribution center will be a vital link for Tractor Supply’s supply-chain strategy to better serve its existing stores and future growth in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma and surrounding states.
“As the wife of a farmer and someone who grew up on a farm, I know the importance firsthand of having supplies readily available,” said Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. “Our farmers and ranchers in the state of Arkansas, a $23 billion industry, will have that certainty thanks to Tractor Supply.”
“We think Tractor Supply Company is a great fit for Maumelle,” said Norris. “I want to thank Entergy and their business development team. Without their process early on, this really wouldn’t have become a site that would have rose among the other sites that were being considered.”
The facility at Champs Boulevard and Jackie Burnett Drive is expected to open in late 2023.
