CLICK TO HEAR JACK HALL’S INTERVIEW WITH KYLE DEGIULIO, AMAZON
CLICK TO HEAR COMMENTS FROM ESCANABA MAYOR MARK AMMEL
The international on-line retailer Amazon officially opened its first facility in the Upper Peninsula on Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its 50,000 square foot building on Escanaba’s northwest side.
The ceremony was attended by Amazon officials from Detroit, as well as State Rep. Dave Prestin and Mayor Mark Ammel. While the ribbon cutting was held on Thursday, the facility has actually been operational for the past two weeks.
“We’re super-excited about this new location in Escanaba,” Amazon Head of Economic Development Kyle DeGiulio told RRN News. “What this building is going to do, is going to support our ‘last mile delivery network’ to customers in the area.”
At Thursday’s ceremony, DeGiulio presented a check for $10,000 to Tri-County Safe Harbor, the agency that serves domestic violence victims in Delta, Menominee, and Schoolcraft Counties. It runs a shelter for abused women in Escanaba, and has been struggling financially in the past year in the wake of government funding cuts.
DeGiulio says that once you order products here in the Upper Peninsula, they’ll come from fulfillment centers in Wisconsin and Lower Michigan. But instead of being delivered on the schedule of the Post Office, UPS, of Fed Ex, sometimes, they will come to your door with Amazon drivers.”
And some items will be actually stocked inside the Escanaba facility.
“An inventory of high-demand, everyday essentials, that we know people want relatively quickly,” DeGuilio said. “That will support, in some cases, same-day delivery. It depends on the item, but rather than have to wait for a package to travel all the way from Detroit to Escanaba to be delivered to, there are a couple thousand items that can be in this building, it keeps fewer trucks on the road and speeds things up.”
Local politicians on hand at Thursday’s event called this a positive for the City of Escanaba, as well as for the entire Upper Peninsula.
“I think it’s very important,” Mayor Ammel said. “For one, it’s going to be a convenience for all the consumers that are using products from this company. It’s going to create some jobs in the area, and it’s utilizing our strongest asset here, in Escanaba, which is as a hub, as a shipping hub.”
“I think a facility like this is really just a testament to the potential of the Upper Peninsula,” said Prestin (R-Cedar River).
“Things like this that have been sorely lacking in the UP give me hope that there is a place for us in this new economy. This facility will take a lot of the heavy load off of a lot of our deliverers in the region, and expedite deliveries. A godsend for jobs and it just shows that things can be done in the U.P.”
DeGuilio says there are currently 50 people working in the facility, which is located near the Meijer and Walmart Stores on Sixth Avenue North. With the holidays coming, seasonal help will ramp that up to 100, with an average 75 employees beyond that.
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