BAMKO’s (asi/131431) ability to significantly grow its large-scale branded merchandise fulfillment programs in recent years is a primary factor in parent company Superior Uniform Group’s just-announced decision to invest $10 million to expand and upgrade its flagship warehouse/distribution facility in Eudora, AR, executives said Wednesday.

Seminole, FL-headquartered Superior said that the improvements will occur over the next three years. An additional 125 jobs will be added over the next five years. Executives for BAMKO – the 21st largest distributor in the North American promotional products industry with 2018 promo sales of $86.5 million – said the facility currently employs about 300.

Joshua White, BAMKO

“BAMKO has grown so much over the last couple years, in particular winning a number of major national enterprise programs. As such, we felt it necessary to expand our warehouse and fulfillment facilities and make long-term investments in upgraded technology,” Joshua White, Los Angeles-headquartered BAMKO’s general counsel and senior vice president of strategic partnerships, told Counselor. BAMKO’s five-year average annual growth rate is 30.6% – the second-fastest such rate among the promo products industry’s 40 biggest distributors.

White noted that BAMKO and Superior, which operates other business divisions such as uniforms and custom call and contact center support, both use the Eudora facility, which was established in 1962 and previously added on to and upgraded over the years to accommodate growth.

In addition to expanding square footage, from 215,000 square feet to 260,000 square feet, the $10 million for the latest round of improvements will be used, in part, to invest in cutting-edge technology upgrades, including robotic automation and next-generation warehouse optimization tools, White told Counselor. “This will create a significant competitive advantage in the coming years and will make us the obvious choice for high-profile enterprise programs,” he said. “This is another big step forward in one of our key company initiatives: continually investing in and extending our technological supremacy across the business.”

A Community Development Block Grant of $1.625 million from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission will help fuel the expansion and upgrades. “We’re so pleased Superior has chosen to expand and modernize their facility in Eudora,” said Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. “With the modernization of their operations and distribution center, they will boost the workforce in a community that will certainly benefit for years to come.”