WHIRLPOOL CORP. // Perris home to new center
October 26, 2007
By RODD CAYTON THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
Efficiency was the motivator behind Whirlpool Corp.'s decision to move into a spec-built warehouse in Perris, a corporate spokeswoman said Thursday.
The appliance manufacturer will move about 250 people from other locations in Southern California to a 1.7 million-square-foot building in Perris starting in early November, spokeswoman Jill Saletta said. Whirlpool expects the building to be fully staffed by mid-2008.
She said the Perris lease, terms of which were not disclosed, is part of a reconfiguration of Whirlpool's U.S. distribution system designed to increase efficiency.
The warehouse will distribute Whirlpool goods from U.S. and international factories to the western U.S. and other parts of the country, Saletta said.
The company's Web site says Whirlpool has 10 manufacturing plants in the U.S., seven in China and India, and four in Mexico.
Work on the building, which is at Perris Boulevard and Morgan Street, started in May, and was completed in August. At the time of its construction, it was the largest spec building ever erected in the United States.
IDS Real Estate Group of Los Angeles developed the site.
Whirlpool is one of several tenants that have sought out the Perris area in recent years. DHL, Ross Stores and Walgreens are among industrial users who have recently set up in the area.
Chicago-based First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. finished a business park in Perris this spring, and has purchased land for further industrial projects.