Ceremonial beam raising marks Reinhart construction progress

SHAWANO — Local dignitaries and public officials, along with a group of Reinhart Foodservice executives and employees, saw a ceremonial beam raised into place at the company’s new facility on County Road B on Thursday.

Those attending were invited to sign the white metal beam before workers from SPE hoisted it into its corner position. The 260,000 square foot facility on 46 acres is designed to be energy-conscious, featuring efficiency low-charge ammonia refrigeration equipment and 100% LED lighting. The facilty will also house an employee training center and test kitchen. The fleet service center will move to the new site from the current Richmond Street location.

The new facility represents $35 million in capital investment, according to a company press release. Reinhart officials speaking at the event foresaw increased employment of up to 50 positions in addition to the current 275. Reinhart employs an additional 625 people at its two other Wisconsin locations. The Shawano distribution center covers the eastern half of Wisconsin, excluding Milwaukee, according to Reinhart’s website, rfsdelivers.com.

Performance Food Group Company (PFG) acquired Reinhart in July from Reyes Holdings, LLC, in a transaction valued at $2.0 billion. The acquisition positions the new company to be one of the largest food service distributors in the U.S. with about $30 billion in net sales, per a news release from the purchaser. When acquired, PFG highlighted the value of Reinhart’s 26 distribution centers across the eastern half of the United States, including New England, as one of the reasons for its purchase.

PFG currently has no other Wisconsin facilities.

Reinhart, from its headquarters in Rosemont, Illinois, employs about 5,600 people, marketing about 90,000 products to about 42,500 customers.

Reinhart, founded in 1972 in LaCrosse, has operated its distribution center in Shawano for nearly 40 years. It was the second largest privately-held food service distributor in the U.S., and will contribute annual net sales of over $6 billion to the new business.