REAL ESTATE: Company move means 125 jobs in Riverside

World Kitchen, a housewares company with big-name brands like CorningWare, Pyrex, ECKO and Revere in its portfolio, has signed a lease to occupy industrial space in Riverside and expand its logistics network on the West Coast.The company's new distribution center will be at 2325 Cottonwood Ave., Riverside, and city officials say the move will generate 125 new jobs."Riverside proved to be an ideal location because it is part of inland Southern California, and is close to the Port of Long Beach," said Chris Roth, vice president of global sourcing for Rosemont-based World Kitchen. "That's important because a substantial portion of product we sell — 30 to 40 percent — comes from Asia."This new West Coast location will allow World Kitchen to optimize distribution across the West Coast, Roth said.
World Kitchen, which is relocating from a smaller distribution facility in the Mira Loma area, has already turned the key on 400,000 square feet of space. It plans to ramp up to occupy 636,000 square feet at the new Riverside facility by mid-2013."We should be functional, and be bringing products in by March," Roth said.Mayor Rusty Bailey said he believes the company picked a strategic location and will thrive in Riverside's collaborative business environment.Leasing terms with property owner Panattoni Development were not divulged, but Roth said terms were favorable and will ensure maximum efficiency with a long-term, West Coast operation.The lease was one of two the company signed through a partnership with Chicago's NAI Hiffman.Besides the Riverside lease, World Kitchen plans to spend $10 million to modernize a distribution center in Greencastle, Pa., as part of a move meant to expand the distribution range across the Mid-Atlantic, as well as the East and West coasts.
Timing was a vital component as well, Roth said.Jay Tanjuan, who represented Panattoni Development in the talks, said World Kitchen had a compressed timeline and wanted to be relocated close to an injection mold facility in Southern California. City staff helped cut through channels to meet relocation deadlines, he said.Economist John Husing said the Inland region has a clear, competitive advantage for logistics facilities because of its blue-collar workforce and base."That is vitally important to our economy," Husing said.Given the fact that Riverside's Hispanic population is now in the majority, and that 32.3 percent of all Hispanic males work in production, transportation and material-moving occupations, Husing said this is a classic case of a company moving to a locale that suits their needs, he said."These are the kinds of jobs that allow them to get to the middle class," he said.