Elkay Mfg. will be hosting a grand opening event at its 268,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center in Freeport, Illinois, which opened this past May to serve its growing Midwestern markets.

Local leaders and members of the media are expected to be in attendance to celebrate the opening of the new facility, as well as company leaders including Tim Jahnke, president and CEO of Elkay, and Ron Katz, the company’s board chairman.

During the event, the company expects to donate one of its iconic Water Bottle Filling Stations to the town of Freeport for use in one of its public areas.

The new facility will serve as the primary distribution hub for the region, handling product manufactured at the company’s manufacturing plants in Savanna, Lanark, and Broadview, Illinois. The Freeport location is well-situated near major transportation arteries to serve customers in the Midwest, which include home center stores such as Home Depot, local home builders, plumbing distributors such as Ferguson, as well as individual do-it-yourself e-commerce consumers across the region. 

“Consumers everywhere have accelerated delivery demands as a result of the digital economy,” said Jahnke. “Their expectations are ever-changing. This regional distribution center will enable us to respond rapidly to these changing expectations and will be instrumental to meeting these elevated customer requirements.”

The facility currently employs a full-time staff of 35, and warehouses and distributes up to 5,000 product SKUs per year, including water bottle fillers, drinking fountains, and Smartwell Water Delivery Systems as well as Elkay’s signature stainless steel sinks.

“Elkay has been a long-standing member of the Northwestern Illinois business community,” said Jahnke. “While times and the demands of the market may have changed, we are pleased to show our commitment to the area by expanding our presence here with this new distribution center.”