Dive Brief:
- H-E-B plans to spend $700 million to expand its supply chain infrastructure, the Texas grocery chain announced Tuesday.
- The retailer has identified a site in San Antonio where it already runs a warehouse and manufacturing plant as a potential home for the project. Facilities that are part of the expansion plan could begin operations as soon as 2028.
- The project represents H-E-B’s biggest investment in its manufacturing and supply chain unit and is set to take shape as the grocer continues to expand its supermarket fleet.
Dive Insight:
H-E-B noted that while it has not yet finalized plans for the new project, it believes construction could begin this year.
The retailer expects the project to create 720 jobs by 2028, adding that it could add 500 roles over the following decade.
Preliminary plans call for construction of a bakery, refrigerated warehouse and transportation building in addition to an expansion of a manufacturing facility the company already operates on San Antonio’s East Side. H-E-B bought the more than 870-acre property on Foster Road nearly a decade ago and has spent more than $445 million since then to build the manufacturing center as well as a 2-million-square-foot warehouse. The facility currently supports almost 1,400 jobs.
“While we are still developing our plans, this will be a major investment for H-E-B that will create jobs and better position us to serve even more Texans,” H-E-B Chief Supply Chain Officer Carson Landsgard said in a statement.
H-E-B’s announcement comes as the company continues to grow rapidly.
The supermarket chain announced in March that it plans to build a new store on an unused landfill site in Buda, Texas, as part of an agreement with local government agencies under which the company will receive over $20 million in incentives to help cover the cost of remediating the land.
In February, the grocer said that it had bought over 600 acres in Valley View, Texas, that it plans to use for supply chain facilities to support its expanding presence in North Texas. H-E-B opened its first store under its main banner in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in 2022 and has added or announced plans for several additional stores since that point.
H-E-B is also developing several locations under its Joe V’s Smart Shop discount format in North Texas.
