Bartell Drugs bringing some new jobs in 2018 to area

Bartell Drugs announced Tuesday that it is building a distribution center/warehouse in Des Moines.

“Relocating there from Seattle’s SoDo area will enable us to dip into the employment pool of north Pierce County,” said Ric Brewer, senior communications manager with the drugstore chain.

The new site, 21202 24th Ave. S., is nearly double the size of the company’s current warehouse, with 266,000 square feet of new space.

The site will be the central location from which Bartell will supply its 67 Puget Sound area stores and help the chain expand regionally.

“The new warehouse will tremendously update and improve our systems, with enhanced automation for smoother inventory flow,” said Rich Visintainer, senior director of supply chain.

Additionally, the new site “will significantly expand the talent pool we are able to draw from for distribution center employees,” Visintainer said.

At peak operations, the facility is set to employ up to 100 people.

“The current schedule has us moving into the new facility at the end of April, so base hiring should begin mid-April or so with labor needs ramping up a bit in May for the beginning of the summer months,” Brewer told The News Tribune on Tuesday via email.

This story was originally published October 18, 2017 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Bartell Drugs bringing some new jobs in 2018 to area."