GRAND RAPIDS 鈥� As the growth of L&M Fleet Supply, Inc. outpaces its current facilities, the company recently announced plans to construct a new 200,000-square-foot distribution center.
L&M offers outdoor power equipment sales and service, as well as fishing, marine and hunting equipment; firearms; workwear; fashion clothing; and footwear; as well as automotive, farm, pet and home improvement merchandise. There are currently 12 retail store locations in northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.
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In addition to expanding the sales in its existing stores and remodeling as needed, L&M plans to open a store in Marquette, Michigan, in March 鈥� marking its second store in the Upper Peninsula since its Escanaba location opened earlier this year.
The company is led by the third generation of family owners who reside in the Grand Rapids area, where L&M originated 64 years ago. The owners are Chief Financial Officer Erik Andersen, Chief Operations Officer Del Matteson and Chief Merchandising Officer Shawn Matteson.
The existing LaPrairie distribution center is the site of L&M's first store. Years ago, the store moved into the former Walmart on the south side of Grand Rapids, and added onto its LaPrairie site as a distribution center to process, store and distribute goods.
"We've since outgrown it tremendously. We're kind of bursting at the seams," said Executive Vice President David Cowan.
Due to wetland and traffic safety concerns, expansion of the current LaPrairie distribution center site was not an option.
The business later purchased the former Rainbow Hotel lot, which currently houses a shipping container yard to keep up with demand of its retail stores as a short-term solution.
The new center is planned to be located on Southeast Seventh Avenue in the industrial park, next to the Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport.
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"We wanted to find a place that had controlled access, and this location that we've found is going to be able to deliver that for us," Cowan said.
Construction at the new greenfield site is slated for next spring, and is anticipated to wrap up in December 2024. L&M expects it to be operational by March 2025.
"There's a lot of excitement within L&M and within the community here. We've been here working on finding a location now for several years, and we had a lot of partners," Cowan said.
The total project investment is $50 million, which includes $2.5 million recently awarded by Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation. The company is also partnering with Itasca Economic Development Corp., Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, Grand Rapids Economic Development Authority, the city of Grand Rapids and Itasca County. According to the release, the project is subject to the approval of pending applications for assistance from state and local public partners.
Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies was selected as general contractor for the project. Ryan Companies was founded in Hibbing and builds these types of facilities for companies of all sizes nationwide.
The project involves the addition of computer-aided forklifts, conveyor systems, a sortation system and more.
"We're a pretty manual facility now, so we're looking to add technology to help us," Cowan said. "Along with this new building, we're putting in a new warehouse managing system that will just give us a greater capability to understand what's going on with our business and unlock a lot more insights into how we're performing and where product is, to have better visibility of our inventory across the supply chain."
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Thirty-five to 50 new jobs are projected, and 83 jobs will be retained. The positions will range from processing, freight and warehouse workers, to engineering, systems and leadership roles.
"A lot of the jobs we are looking to create really don't exist in our area, especially the greater Grand Rapids and Itasca County area," Cowan said.
As part of L&M's partnership with IRRR and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, the company plans to help develop training programs that apply to the skills and abilities it will need from its workforce at the new distribution center.
鈥淥ur agency is extremely pleased that a dynamic company like L&M is making such a substantial economic investment in the region," Ida Rukavina, commissioner of IRRR, said in a news release. "The project will create jobs for the construction trades as the distribution center is built out over the next year and jobs for local residents when it is up and operating."
There are no definitive plans for the current LaPrairie distribution site, which also houses L&M's corporate offices. Cowan anticipates the office space will see updates, and the warehouse area will either be repurposed by the company or available for lease.
L&M has Minnesota stores in Bemidji, Cloquet, Detroit Lakes, Grand Rapids, Hibbing, Park Rapids, Thief River Falls and Virginia; Wisconsin stores in Ashland and Hayward; and Michigan stores in Escanaba and soon in Marquette.
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