Playford mayor Glenn Docherty (left), trade minister Simon Birmingham and Drakes chief executive Roger Drake at theopening of the $125 million Edinburgh North Drakes Distribution Centre last week. PHOTO: Supplied
SOUTH Australian supermarket company Drakes officially opened its $125 million Edinburgh North distribution centre on Thursday, with the development set to create 150 jobs and distribute stock to affiliated stores around the country.
Drakes general manager Bob Soang hoped the centre would grow to employ 300 workers in time.
“We’ve started with 150 people, of which the vast majority are locals,” he said.
“Elizabeth would have felt the brunt of the Holden closure, so this is at least a fairly positive start.
“It’s a sizeable commitment to the area.”
Mr Soang said the intention is to partner with businesses in the Edinburgh area to help them distribute around the country.
“We picked Edinburgh North because it’s part of the Edinburgh Food Park, so we see an opportunity for South Australian businesses to work closely with us by getting products into Drakes supermarkets,” he said.
“It’s just one of the advantages we are trying to work on with this new development.”
Playford mayor Glenn Docherty said the investment would be a boost for the local economy.
“As we sit around our dinner tables and pack school lunches for our kids, we do this knowing that every dollar we spend is going back into a wonderful South Australian company,” he said.
“As the most advanced independent distribution and logistics centre in the state, this large-scale operation presents a major boost for our local economy and will also contribute to creating up to 300 ongoing jobs, which is great news for the north.
“It is also particularly exciting that the distribution centre incorporates more than $15 million of robotics as part of a wider high-tech warehousing picking system.
“Since the closure of Holden, this is just one of many private commercial investments coming into our region; this $125 million investment in Playford shows that there is business confidence to invest in our community.
“I congratulate Roger Drake and his family for this significant investment.”
The opening of the distribution centre means all former Drakes Foodland supermarkets will be rebranded as Drakes, with a licencing agreement between Drakes and distribution company Metcash – the owner of the Foodland brand – now expired.
