Kohlfeld Distributing will double storage space in latest expansion

Since October, drivers commuting between Cape Girardeau and Jackson may have noticed the construction occurring at the site of Kohlfeld Distributing, Inc. The company’s new 30,000-square-foot warehouse is nearing completion.

Officials at Kohlfeld had discussed creating a new warehouse over the last few years and recently decided it was time.

The beverage-distribution company has picked up 20 new suppliers and doubled its business since 2006 but had not increased its warehouse space.

This has made storage cumbersome.

“Right now it’s about finding anywhere you can in the warehouse to put things,” sales manager Courtland Kohlfeld said. “We’re just jam-packed in our current building.”

Rob Deimond, left, and Curtis Holt of Scroggins Construction, secure siding on an exterior wall Monday of the new building expansion at Kohlfield Distributing Inc. in Cape Girardeau.Laura Simon

Construction completion is expected in June. This is the company’s sixth expansion at the site.

The new warehouse effectively will double the distributor’s storage space. The facility will provide considerably more vertical storage.

This is more in line with other modern beer warehouses, Kohlfeld said, and will allow the company to triple-stack its product.

The new warehouse also will feature LED lighting and “a state-of-the-art temperature-control system” installed by Dutch Enterprises, Kohlfeld said.

“I think we’re one of the first few in the area to have anything like it. It’s going to be really nice,” he said.

When the new facility is finished, the existing warehouse will be used for storing nonalcoholic beverages, and a portion of it will be reconfigured for a larger draft-beer storage room.

“Draft has to be kept at an even colder temperature than package,” Kohlfeld said.

Another area will be used for storage of racks, coolers, and other large point-of-sale pieces.

The added space will make the distribution process much more efficient, Kohlfeld said.

“It will help relieve the overflow and give us some room to grow into,” he said.

bbrown@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

4691 E Jackson Blvd, Jackson, MO