WADENA, MN - A new produce distribution facility is coming to Colorado. Russ Davis Wholesale announced early this week that it has plans in the works to purchase a 125,000-square-foot building, formerly a Mars/Doane building at an airport industrial park, according to The Pueblo Chieftain.

"Colorado doesn't currently have a company that does what we do and we feel that it is a great market for our business model," said company Chief Executive Andy Gamble in a statement.

Russ Davis Wholesale will invest $8 million to $10 million in the project, while the city of Pueblo offered a $2.6 million jobs incentive grant from its half-cent sales tax fund for economic development, approved by City Council later Monday.

The facility will likely employ just over 160 workers, and the site could be ready to operate as soon as September.

Details the news source noted were given by Russ Davis Wholesale executives at a jobs announcement Monday afternoon included:

• Pueblo Community College will provide an estimated $130,400 in pre-employment training
• The jobs will pay an average wage of about $17 an hour, according to PEDCO officials
• The company chose Pueblo for its available real estate and labor force, as well as its centralized location as a launching point to the Mountain West market

Andrew Trainor, Chair of PEDCO and Regional President of Legacy Bank, called the employee-owned Russ Davis Wholesale "a great family company" that will fit well with the region's other agricultural offerings, adding, "I think they're going to be a great addition."

The company was founded in 1955 by the late Russ Davis, according to its website, and this location will make its sixth distribution center in the U.S. Five others are currently operated in three Midwestern states, including a processing plant in Eagan, MN. For more in expansions, strategies, and other news regarding fresh produce, AndNowUKnow will bring you the latest.

Russ Davis Wholesale