Holidays helping fuel Fulex expansion as fulfillment company adds to Chattanooga footprint, hiring | Chattanooga Times Free Press

2021-12-25 06:06:20 By : Mr. Richard Feng

In time for the Christmas rush, package fulfillment company Fulex has grown its footprint in Chattanooga nearly sixfold over the past couple of years and boosted hiring to meet demand.

Fulex is handling about 5,000 orders daily at its 140,000-square-foot distribution center on Riverside Drive, said Gary Laney, operations manager at the Chattanooga facility. Business is up about 300% over the holidays, he said.

"Everybody wants it today," Laney said.

Detroit-based Fulex entered the Chattanooga market about two years ago. The company opened a 24,000-square-foot center on West 31st Street in late 2019, just months before the coronavirus sent the nation and much of the world into a lockdown in early 2020 and spurred online ordering.

As the economy has reopened, business has continued to expand for Fulex, prompting the company to move into the larger space in October.

"It has really grown," said Laney about the level of business in Chattanooga. "We continue to receive new clients."

Laney said the company now has 40 people on board in Chattanooga, up from about 30 a year ago. It has been easier to find workers of late, he said.

"More people are ready to come back to work," Laney said, adding the headcount could grow in the future for the company. "The workforce is more readily at hand."

Fulex, which stands for "fulfillment expert," was founded in 2003. It focuses on filling orders for businesses, most of them small- or medium-sized, as well as a number operated by entrepreneurs.

Fulex Vice President Robert Davison said the company had distribution centers in Detroit and San Diego, but it needed another in the South to help meet requirements for one- to two-day shipping. Company officials had studied Chattanooga before making the move to the city, he said, noting that it's centrally located to offer quick shipping and has the talent the company needs.

"The city is growing and seems to be investing in the infrastructure, and the people there seem to be very familiar with e-commerce fulfillment, logistics, warehousing and shipping," Davison said. He said that with the global logistics backlog and shipping delays, the company is still able to grow its footprint and hire more employees in the city.

In 2022, Davison said, the company has plans to complete the build-out of its center and hire more people.

"We are looking at hiring more talent to our team, specifically office personnel to help with our clients' accounts and adding more warehouse associates and shifts," he said. "We do not see e-commerce order fulfillment slowing down at all."

Laney said Fulex handles a lot of specialty items due to the small- to medium-size businesses it serves.

Everything from hair and skincare products, board games, tug ropes for dogs and safety strips cycle through the center, Laney said.

Fulex had been working seven days a week but has dialed that back to six, he said. Still, weekends and extended hours are common amid the holidays, Laney said.

Inside the Riverside Drive center, the company has received more warehouse racking so added items can be stacked and stored, he said. Still more racking is needed to fully utilize the space, Laney said.

"We're very similar to Amazon," he said about that fulfillment giant that has two distribution centers in the Chattanooga area.

Laney said Monday is the busiest day for the company as many people use the weekends to do their online ordering. The Fulex center has expanded the number of shipping stations its uses from five to about 17 to handle the holiday crush of orders, he said.

"I can only imagine what the next two years will bring," Laney said.

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.

Copyright © 2021, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Inc.

This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Chattanooga Times Free Press, Inc.

Material from the Associated Press is Copyright © 2021, Associated Press and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. All rights reserved.