Walmart Canada to spend $175 million on B.C. fulfillment centre

Walmart Canada is stepping up its grocery offering in B.C. by spending more than $175 million to build a distribution centre in Surrey that should improve product quality for customers, while reducing environmental impact.

The centre will deliver fresh produce and frozen product to 60 stores throughout the province with fewer long-haul truck deliveries and a reduced carbon footprint. Located in Surrey’s Campbell Heights Business Park, the new centre will cover 300,000 sq. ft. and employ 150 to 200 people long term. This will bring the count of Walmart's distribution centres in Western Canada to six. The retailer currently has five warehouses in Calgary.

Construction is scheduled to start in 2021 and the building —which Walmart is calling “high-tech, state-of-the-art“—will also be a zero-waste facility.

"We believe that our zero-waste, sustainable facility will be a great fit for this community,” said John Bayliss, Walmart’s senior vice-president, logistics and supply chain, in a release. “We are also looking forward to working closely with the outstanding universities and colleges in Greater Vancouver to connect with highly-skilled individuals and offer employment opportunities.”

Sustainability features will include: LED lighting and intelligent controls; alternative battery cell (lithium) to reduce power consumption; refrigeration systems using CFC free carbon dioxide; an HVAC system that will use heat from the refrigeration system to warm offices; and the use of electric vehicles.