CINCINNATI — Cincinnati will no longer be an operations and distribution hub for Heidelberg as the company plans a move to its Dayton facility, according to an internal letter sent to personnel on July 24.
The letter says Heidelberg will move all warehouse and delivery operations to its facility on Dryden Road in Moraine. By October 2, all of Heidelberg's Southwest Ohio deliveries will be made from that location.
"New sales and delivery routes for the Cincinnati and Ohio Valley areas will also start at this time," says the letter.
Penned by Chris Rammel, president of Heidelberg Distributing Company, the letter was sent the morning of July 24 and sent to everyone working in the Cincinnati facility; WCPO obtained a copy of the letter.
Once the move is complete, Rammel wrote the company's Ohio Valley building, Cincinnati building and Kenner Street building "will be sold in due time." The company is also searching for new office space "to support the Cincinnati area."
The reason for the move, according to Rammel's letter, is to improve efficiency and customer service.
"Our Dayton warehouse space is underutilized," reads the letter. "It is currently at 23% capacity."
By contrast, Rammel said the Cincinnati and Ohio Valley warehouses are nearly at capacity.
Rammel also pointed to the close proximity of the three Cincinnati locations to one another — just 48 miles apart at their furthest point. Because of that, trucking routes are not optimized to the highest degree, the letter says.
Additionally, the merge means products won't need to be transferred between Dayton, Ohio Valley and the Cincinnati facility, cutting down on fuel costs and reducing gas emissions, Rammel wrote.
"Over the past year we moved almost 140,000 cases between the three facilities," says the letter.
The company did not announce layoffs in the letter. Instead, Rammel wrote that all delivery drivers working for Heidelberg's Cincinnati location will have the opportunity to transfer to the Dayton facility, though there was no acknowledgment of how employees who used to work in Cincinnati would be able to successfully transfer to Dayton, roughly an hour drive away.
"We have already conveyed this promise to your Union Leadership and are in the process of scheduling expedited negotiations to bargain over the effects of this consolidation on our Union Associates," Rammel wrote. "It is our strong preference to negotiate an agreement with the Union in the next few weeks so you can make informed decisions about your future."
Heidelberg's Cincinnati location currently occupies nine acres of land in the West End; on that land stands a 225,000 square-foot warehouse and office facility, according to the company's website. Roughly 230 people work within the facility's walls.
“Heidelberg Distributing is consolidating the warehouse and delivery functions of two of our Cincinnati-area locations into our facility in Moraine,” the business said in a statement sent in response to questions about the plan from the Dayton Daily News. “This will allow us to better utilize the space available in the Moraine facility and drive delivery efficiencies while strengthening our ability to serve our valued customers and suppliers. "
The current Heidelberg Cincinnati facility will become the sales office, and there will be no changes to our sales structure,” the statement added. “All operations associates will be offered the opportunity to transition to the Moraine facility.”
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