walmart grocery distribution centers

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Want to read more about some of the people who have made Bedford County's economy one of the fastest growing in Pennsylvania? Go to the "Opportunities 2000" profiles index to read about more than 30 of Bedford County's "Hometown Heroes."

The reliability of Cell-Con's equipment is critical, and the company prides itself on its low failure rate. "In one instance, we shipped 40,000 units to a customer without a failure. That's a quality record that's almost unheard of in this business, and it's largely because we have great employees here who take enormous pride in their work," Cunard said.

"I didn't want to be anywhere else because I knew Bedford had the high-quality workforce that could do the type of work we needed in this business," said county native Joel Cunard, vice president of Cell-Con's charger power supply operations. "There's a reason so many world-leading manufacturers are located in this small, rural county - it's the extraordinary quality of the workforce."

One company located a branch plant in Bedford County just because of the quality workforce. Cell-Con Inc., is headquartered in Coatesville, where it operates a battery assembly plant. The charger-power supply division was started in Exton in 1993, but moved to Bedford in June 1994.

Donald Ruggery judges "Bedford County's workers as among the best anywhere." Ruggery should know - he owns the region's Spherion employment agency with offices in more than 15 Central and Western Pennsylviania counties and is a former Pennsylvania Jobs Center director, "The county's workers have a great work ethic. They're on-time, they know responsibility, they care about their jobs and have a super attitude. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this area based on its workforce alone."

And, less than three years after opening, Bedford is a popular training site - often hosting groups of 60 to 70 associates from new locations who come to DC 6047 to learn from the best. "We just had groups in from Louisiana and Tennessee, and we're getting one from Missouri," Burchfield said. "This center has proven to be a model on how to start and maintain an efficient operation." Part of that model is regular, intensive training for every associate. "Every associate receives training every month," Burchfield says. "When you keep everyone trained, they are more productive and work more safely. Instead of just working here, they become a major part of the operation." Finding quality associates has not been difficult, according to Burchfield and Personnel Manager George Dargoltz. When the distribution center opened 40 jobs in mid-year, 360 applicants came to be interviewed. "We have no problem finding good people here," Dargoltz says. "We have a reputation for treating our people well."

Burchfield says the quality of the associates is the best he's seen in the United States and he attributes their quality to the strong work ethic he sees in the region's residents. "This work ethic has been passed down from generation to generation - it's ingrained." In addition, the stable population means the associates' roots are set deep in the community. "That makes a big difference," he says. Seventy-five percent of the management staff at the center are now local natives, and the Bedford area has proven to be a fertile recruiting ground for Wal-Mart managers - many who have entered the Wal-Mart training program and are now working at other centers around the United States.

The Bedford distribution center is consistently ranked as the top food warehouse in the Wal-Mart national network, with amazing productivity and accuracy records. During the month of May 2000, for example, DC 6047 handled more than five million product cases. in addition, the on-time delivery percentage to the store base was 99.2 for the year, meaning the Bedford distribution center experienced an extremely high level of service in delivering to stores and clubs throughout the Mid-Atlantic states. The Bedford center experienced the lowest number of errors of any in the country for the third year in a row. And quantity isn't sacrificed for accuracy - many order fillers move up to 225 cases per hour, or 24 tons of product per shift, Burchfield said. They also work safe, as Bedford also won the company's "Safety Distribution Center of the Year" award with its very low incidence of accidents in 2000.

The associates at the Wal-Mart grocery distribution center near Cessna know what's expected of them- their best. And their best has meant the center, which opened in May 1998, is the top Wal-Mart grocery distribution center in the country - and they can prove it, most recently with the company's designation as the "Grocery Distribution Center of the Year" for 2000 and 2001. "From the beginning, this center has been at the top in the country," says General Manager Tom Burchfield. "Our associates have met and sometimes even exceeded our expectations right from the beginning."

Time after time, Bedford County employers talk about the superior workforce here in the county.

-General Manager Tom Burchfield, Wal-Mart Distribution Center 6047, Bedford

"Just about any way you measure it, this facility is the best in the United States. I can't tell you how proud I am of our associates. . . Their strong work ethic has been passed down generation after generation - it's ingrained."

Bedford County Development Association: Workforce