Top 40 distributor HALO Branded Solutions (asi/356000) recently hosted local and state dignitaries at a ribbon cutting for its new 275,000-square-foot distribution center. The building is an addition to HALO’s 157,000-square-foot corporate headquarters in Sterling, IL.

“We had originally planned to expand five years after the move-in of our new headquarters in 2018,” Marc Simon, HALO CEO, said in a press release. “We quickly learned client opportunities continued to grow, so we needed to add space to accommodate our large corporate client base.”

The buildout includes converting 20,000 square feet of the company’s current warehouse space to office space to accommodate over 300 new employees, which the company intends to hire as the growth of the business dictates.

“The space was completed in just over six months and includes 20,000 square feet for complex client kitting projects,” said Bill Barrett, HALO’s senior vice president of distribution and materials handling. “It’s a perfect fit for our business, and we anticipate we will be over 50% capacity by yearend.”

With reported 2018 North American promotional product revenue of $605 million, HALO Branded Solutions ranks third on Counselor’s latest list of the largest distributors in the industry. HALO’s five-year average annual growth rate is 26.3% – the fastest among promo’s top five largest distributors.