IKEA has submitted plans to the City of Joliet, Illinois for a second distribution center, that is planned to accompany the company’s first facility to open in mid-2017.

“On the heels of securing all approvals for our first terminal in Joliet and moving forward with plans to construct that building, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to propose another building, on the adjacent property,” according to said Rob Olson, U.S. CFO of the Sweden-based home furnishings retailer.

In February, IKEA moved ahead with the development of its first distribution center in Joliet. Planned on 72 acres at the Laraway Crossings Business Park, the new Midwest facility will be 1.4-million-square feet and is sited about 48 miles southwest of Chicago.

The second proposed facility is similar in size, on 62 acres adjacent to the west of the currently planned first building.

COMBINED FACILITY WILL SERVE IKEA’S MIDWEST RETAIL STORES

The combined distribution hub and customer fulfillment center, located near a major intermodal rail facility, will serve the inventory needs of IKEA stores throughout the Midwest U.S. It represents the fifth significant investment by IKEA in the state of Illinois.

The two Joliet facilities “will enhance the current distribution network comprised of two distribution centers on the west coast and three on the east,” says Olson. “Its central location will allow goods to be received at coastal ports from both Asia and Europe and then transported inland to the Joliet warehouses.”

In addition to the already planned Joliet distribution center and the newly proposed terminal, there are currently two IKEA stores in the ‘Chicagoland’ area, one in Bolingbrook, the other in Schaumburg.

With more than 1,300 suppliers in 54 countries, IKEA’s global supply chain moves products to its stores through regional distribution centers.