Chicago-based lubricants distributor Keller-Heartt expanded operations by opening a 35,000 square foot warehouse in southeast Wisconsin, increasing the companys reach in its core territory in the Midwest and providing accessibility for their local and long-term clients.
The facility in Oak Creek is located just south of Milwaukee, two miles east of Interstate 94 and less than an hour away from the Illinois border to the south. The key features of the warehouse include four large overhead docks to ease pickups and deliveries, a 10,000 square foot rear parking lot for semi-trailers, and 8,000 square feet reserved for office space, said Brian McGrath, president and co-owner of Keller-Heartt.
The additional storage space offers growth opportunities to Keller-Heartt, as well as its suppliers, McGrath said in an e-mail to Lube Report.
With the extra capacity the new facility brings, we will be able to stock more of our suppliers products and offer alarger footprint tomarket the products, hence increasing our volume with our current partners, McGrath explained.
The Oak Creek facility is also meant to respond to increased demand in the manufacturing and transportation sectors, customer segments that are driving the growth in the lubricants industry in the Midwest.
Applications are becoming more complex, andmany original equipment manufacturers are coming out with new requirements. This confuses the customers and causesduplication of inventory, said McGrath. This opens the opportunity for Keller-Heartt to offer a single source for all their fluid needs, to help simplifythepurchasing process for lubricants andchemicals.
McGrath also said the company is interviewing people to work as warehouse personnel, office administrators and sales representatives. He estimated the company will hire five employees by the end of this year and have 10 workers by June 2016.In the meantime, our Chicago personnel are helping with the transition [to the new facility], he said.
Keller-Heartt maintains an inventory of industrial and commercial lubricants for bulk, drum and packaged goods in its 40,000 square foot warehouse in Chicago. Its delivery fleet consists of bulk tankers with load capacities of up to 6,000 gallons and allows emergency deliveries to customers. The company distributes several brands of lubricants, including Shell, Pennzoil, Quaker State, WD-40 and Oil Eater.