Penguin Random House will expand its Crawfordsville, Ind., distribution and fulfillment center by 650,000 square feet, which will enable the facility to double its annual shipments of print books and improve deliveries to booksellers across the U.S. PRH acquired the Crawfordsville facility in 2001; it has some 900 employees.
To support the expansion, PRH will receive $5.6 million in tax incentives that were approved by the City Council of Crawfordsville in votes in May and June, the final one held yesterday evening. The company is investing up to $50 million in the project, which will expand the facility to about 1.5 million square feet, according to Inside Indiana Business.
PRH called the expansion of the Crawfordsville distribution center "an integral step forward" in its plans to grow its global supply chain. Next year, the company aims to establish an operations hub in the U.K. to deliver U.S. titles more efficiently to European customers. The Crawfordsville facility is one of four PRH distribution centers in the U.S., which include two in Maryland--in Westminster and Hampstead--and one in Reno, Nev.
Crawfordsville Mayor Todd Barton said, "Penguin Random House has continued to grow in Crawfordsville and has become a strong partner in our success. This new investment in their Crawfordsville operations further solidifies their position as an industry leader and as a premier employer in our region. We greatly appreciate their ongoing confidence in this community and look forward to working alongside them to ensure the success of this new expansion."
PRH CEO Nihar Malaviya said, "We are deeply grateful to Mayor Barton, the City Council of Crawfordsville, and the Office of Economic Development for their ongoing support and enthusiasm for our mission to provide our authors with the widest and fastest distribution of our books. The cooperation we receive daily from the city, from Montgomery County, and from our wonderful employees, who live here, ensures a welcome future for print books, and for those who sell them, as well as for our commitment to freedom of expression, and to freedom of reading choices for everyone."
Lori De Reza, PRH senior v-p of distribution, added, "My Crawfordsville colleagues and I are thrilled by this commitment of our civic leaders to the work we proudly perform at our facility on behalf of Penguin Random House authors, illustrators, and publishers. It is a privilege for us to contribute to our community's economy, as we help get our books into the hands of America's booksellers and book buyers."