Interstates Entice DCs and HQs

In the path of major east-west and north-south Interstate highways, Illinois continually gets a look from firms in search of sites for new distribution centers. A prime example is battery maker Rayovac Corp., which will power up a new $20-million distribution and packaging center complex in Dixon in April. Under construction since last June, the 560,000-sq.-ft. (52,000-sq.-m.) facility is part of a company-wide restructuring plan. Rayovac is closing operations in Middleton and Madison, Wis., and combining them in the Dixon complex, which is being built near the new Union Pacific Railroad Intermodal facility in Rochelle.

Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, a subsidiary of Takeda Chemical, Japan's largest pharmaceutical company, plans a new corporate campus in Deerfield.

        Dixon, which will employ about 300, will serve the majority of Rayovac's U.S. customer base. As a result, company officials say the new facility will significantly reduce freight costs.
        "This new centralized packaging and distribution center is expected to result in more than $5.6 million in savings in freight, inventory and operating costs from our current multiple location system," says David A. Jones, Rayovac chairman and CEO.
        Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, a five-year-old subsidiary of Takeda Chemical Industries, Japan's largest pharmaceutical company, purchased a 70-acre (28.3-hectare) site in Deerfield from Baxter International for its new corporate campus. Takeda spokesman Matt Kuhn says the company will soon begin formulating plans for the complex. No timetable has been set for the project, he says.