Top 40 supplier S&S Activewear (asi/84358) is expanding with plans for two new distribution centers.

In announcements made this month, the Illinois-headquartered company said it plans to establish a state-of-the-art 800,000-square-foot warehouse in Reno, NV – a facility S&S says will be the largest lease of its kind in Nevada’s history while serving as the firm’s most expansive fulfillment center. Executives expect the warehouse to open in the first quarter of 2019.

Meanwhile, S&S also expects to establish a new 750,351-square-foot distribution center in Lockport, IL. S&S is targeting the third quarter of 2019 as an opening date.

According to S&S, operations at the company’s current Santa Fe Springs, CA facility will be consolidated into the Reno distribution center. The California facility is expected to close in Q2 2019. As part of the change, S&S plans to relocate its California call center to Tempe, AZ.

The planned Reno warehouse will make room for a broader SKU offering and deeper inventory position, and allow S&S to expand its service offering to a broader region, the company said. Reno’s strategic location will allow S&S to reach a majority of the West Coast with one-day ship times, while deepening its two-day coverage across the southwest and mountain states.

“Every day, S&S seeks out new ways to better serve its customers,” said Frank Myers, S&S chief financial officer (pictured on the left). “The new facility will expand the company’s presence in the West, improving shipping performance and expanding our product offering.”

The Lockport, IL distribution center will be located a short distance from S&S’s current Bolingbrook office. The new location will empower the supplier to broaden its operations and deepen its inventory, all while retaining current staff and hiring new employees. Beyond more space for inventory and expanded SKUs, the Lockport facility will feature a larger break room, new material handling systems, and a dedicated photo studio for marketing. S&S also plans to have a radiant heating system and more fans to keep workers warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

“Our priority at S&S is to fulfill the needs of our customers – which are expanding every day,” said President Jim Shannon. “The new Lockport facility is equipped with the space and technology needed to meet the company's growing customer demand.”

Both the Reno and Lockport facilities will feature solar panels that will help reduce S&S’s carbon footprint – an eco-initiative the company says is a priority.

The planned new facilities mark the latest developments in S&S’s recent expansion effort, which has seen the supplier establish new and expanded facilities across the country. In December 2017, for example, S&S opened a 493,000-square-foot distribution center in Fort Worth, TX. Then, this spring, S&S opened a 505,000-square-foot warehouse near Atlanta.

“By meeting our customers where they are, we are able to create deeper relationships with them,” said Shannon. “It’s these relationships that have been the foundation of our business since day one.”

With reported 2017 North American promotional products sales of $485 million, S&S ranks fifth on Counselor’s new list of the largest suppliers in the industry.