Home Depot will join its competitor Lowe's in locating a distribution center near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, according to the Times Leader newspaper of Wilkes-Barre. The company plans to create 350 new jobs at the center, most of which will be full-time positions that provide benefits and profit sharing. The Times Leader says the new center will be in a 465,600-square-foot building in the CenterPoint Commerce and Trade Park and will be located at the opposite end of the complex from the Lowe's center. Company officials say the center will be what they describe as a "fast-flow facility," in which products are trucked in and shipped out quickly to more than 100 Home Depot stores in the northeastern United States, with very little inventory held in storage. "This will help our stores to replenish the items quickly and in the amounts they need," says Sarah Molinari, a company spokesperson. The Pennsylvania governor's office says it will provide Home Depot with $1.35 million in state incentives for the center. The company plans to have the center fully operational by the end of next year.
