Construction is under way on what will be Irvine-based Golden State Foods Corp.’s largest distribution center for the Golden Arches.
The 270,000-square-foot center in Industry will ship food, toys and other products to about 900 McDonald’s Corp. restaurants in the Western U.S.
The distribution hub,Golden State’s 11th,is set to open during the first quarter next year. McDonald’s is Golden State’s biggest customer. It ships more than 130 products to McDonald’s, including beef patties, ketchup and the Big Mac’s “secret sauce.”
Golden State has about 2,400 workers, including 35 at its Irvine headquarters. The new center, on Baker Parkway in Industry’s Grand Crossing industrial complex, is expected to have 300 workers.
Golden State has other facilities in Industry, including a 70,000-square-foot toy distribution center where it stores its Happy Meal toys imported from China. Golden State handles McDonald’s toy distribution on the West Coast. The company’s first distribution center in Industry was in 1971.
The company cited energy incentives and an attractive lease for the consolidation at Grand Crossing. The complex is owned by Industry-based Majestic Realty Co.
Majestic got a land grant from the city to develop the 400-acre industrial center.
There are other reasons for moving to Grand Crossing, said Scott Thomas, group vice president of distribution for Golden State.
“The big one is just having everyone under one roof,” Thomas said.
Consolidating some of its operations at Grand Crossing will speed shipment, he said.
“We will handle the product less,” Thomas said.
“From an efficiency standpoint it’s a real slick deal,” he said.
The center will distribute all the products customers see in a McDonald’s. The restaurants get restocked twice a week.
Golden State may keep one of its area buildings that it owns,an 80,000-square-foot facility in Industry, according to Thomas. He said Golden State might go after some non-McDonald’s related business for that building.
In the past, lenders have been critical of Golden State for being too reliant on McDonald’s. But McDonald’s has meant steady business for Golden State.
Its ties with the restaurant chain go back to the 1950s when founder Ray Kroc tapped Golden State to supply its restaurants. William Moore founded Golden State in 1947.
The deal with McDonald’s always has been a handshake deal, he said.
“There’s never been any contract,” Thomas said. “With a handshake relationship you have to earn the business every day.”
Golden State has about $2.2 billion in annual sales, the company said in a release.
Company managers, led by Chairman and Chief Executive Mark Wetterau, last year bought a majority stake in the company from billionaire Ron Burkle, founder and managing partner of Los Angeles investment company Yucaipa Cos.
