Ahold Delhaize USA is building a new $860 million distribution center in Burlington, North Carolina, adding more than 1 million square feet of fresh and frozen space and creating more than 500 jobs over time.
Company leaders, along with state and local officials, held a groundbreaking ceremony Monday for the new site. The facility will support Food Lion and other grocery brands and is expected to open in 2029.
The project is part of the company’s Growing Together strategy to modernize its U.S. supply chain and expand capacity along the East Coast.
“This groundbreaking marks another exciting step forward in strengthening our supply chain network and ensuring we can serve our customers with the freshest products every day,” said JJ Fleeman, Chief Executive Officer, Ahold Delhaize USA. “We’re proud to invest in North Carolina – one of our home states for nearly 70 years – and to continue building on our commitment to serving local customers and communities by providing access to nutritious and affordable options.”
The Burlington site will be the largest facility in the company’s U.S. network. It will include automation and sustainability features to improve efficiency and reduce environmental impact.
“At ADUSA Distribution and ADUSA Transportation, we are focused on delivering best-in-class service to the grocery brands we support,” said Sanja Krajnovic, Chief Supply Chain Officer and EVP, ADUSA Distribution and ADUSA Transportation. “The Burlington distribution center will be our largest facility in the network, enabling us to expand our capacity, implement new technology, and deploy automation capabilities as we modernize our supply chain. We look forward to welcoming new associates to our team who are passionate about serving the millions of customers who rely on our brands every week.”
“Today’s groundbreaking underscores North Carolina’s continued leadership in attracting transformative investments that create hundreds of good-paying jobs, strengthen supply chains, and support long-term economic growth,” added North Carolina Governor Josh Stein.
The Burlington facility will be the company’s fourth distribution center in North Carolina, joining sites in Salisbury, Butner and Dunn. Together, those facilities support one of the largest grocery supply chain networks on the East Coast. Ahold Delhaize USA operates more than 8,000 transportation assets and logs more than 125 million miles each year.
