Baldor to move into new facility next spring
Baldor to move into new facility next spring
Having outgrown its current facility, Baldor Specialty Foods, one of the larger importers and distributors of fresh produce in the Northeast, will be moving to a larger facility this coming spring.
"We are forward-thinkers and we have spent the last two years knowing that we needed to move to a larger building as we outgrew ours," said Michael Muzyk, president of Baldor.
The company and its 510 employees will move into the 185,000-square-foot facility, located on 12 acres of New York City-owned land in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx, sometime within the next three to six months.
Mr. Muzyk said that Baldor plans to hire somewhere between 300 and 350 additional employees who will "run the gamut from blue collar to white collar. The new facility will allow us to expand our product line, better handle efficiencies and grow the company."
As part of the move, New York City's government has requested that Baldor's old facility be made available to the tenants of the Bronx Terminal Market, who will be displaced by the redevelopment of the city-owned facility the market currently occupies. "We would love to see them use this facility," said Kevin Murphy, chief executive officer of Baldor.
Stanley Mayer, president of the Bronx Terminal Market Preservation Association Inc., the organization formed to help the soon-to-be-ousted tenants find a new home where they could still remain together, was pessimistic about the market's chances of moving to Baldor's facility.
"It's a beautiful facility, but it's not for our business - it's not good for us," Mr. Mayer said. "It's set up for distribution. We distribute, but not the way they do."
Mr. Mayer said that in addition to the low ceilings and numerous columns in the fully refrigerated Baldor building, the facility's location was not desirable to the market's 16 to 18 tenants who would need to be relocated.
"We are currently working on two other sites where we can stay together," Mr. Mayer said. "This is the first time we have seen that [New York City Mayor Michael] Bloomberg has recognized the need to do something for us. It is the first baby step."
"We are forward-thinkers and we have spent the last two years knowing that we needed to move to a larger building as we outgrew ours," said Michael Muzyk, president of Baldor.
The company and its 510 employees will move into the 185,000-square-foot facility, located on 12 acres of New York City-owned land in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx, sometime within the next three to six months.
Mr. Muzyk said that Baldor plans to hire somewhere between 300 and 350 additional employees who will "run the gamut from blue collar to white collar. The new facility will allow us to expand our product line, better handle efficiencies and grow the company."
As part of the move, New York City's government has requested that Baldor's old facility be made available to the tenants of the Bronx Terminal Market, who will be displaced by the redevelopment of the city-owned facility the market currently occupies. "We would love to see them use this facility," said Kevin Murphy, chief executive officer of Baldor.
Stanley Mayer, president of the Bronx Terminal Market Preservation Association Inc., the organization formed to help the soon-to-be-ousted tenants find a new home where they could still remain together, was pessimistic about the market's chances of moving to Baldor's facility.
"It's a beautiful facility, but it's not for our business - it's not good for us," Mr. Mayer said. "It's set up for distribution. We distribute, but not the way they do."
Mr. Mayer said that in addition to the low ceilings and numerous columns in the fully refrigerated Baldor building, the facility's location was not desirable to the market's 16 to 18 tenants who would need to be relocated.
"We are currently working on two other sites where we can stay together," Mr. Mayer said. "This is the first time we have seen that [New York City Mayor Michael] Bloomberg has recognized the need to do something for us. It is the first baby step."
