South Side distributor plans large-scale expansion in Westmoreland County
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The former Beckwith property, west of Route 66 near the northern end of the Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass in Salem Township, will become a new distribution center for beer and soda.
Frank B. Fuhrer Wholesale Co., based in Pittsburgh’s South Side, is expanding and nearly doubling its storage capacity with a 300,000-square-foot distribution center off Boquet Road.
“We plan to continue operating out of our South Side facilities, but we’ve been out of space there for about the past five years,” said Fuhrer’s chief financial officer Jake Wrigley. “It’s been difficult, so we pulled the trigger to really expand and continue to grow.”
Fuhrer Wholesale primarily services Southwestern Pennsylvania, distributing soda and beer ranging from national brands such as Bud Light to local craft beer such as Westmoreland’s Helltown Brewing.
Fuhrer told Salem commissioners the building eventually will employ about 110 people. Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority Manager Nicholas Kerr said plans are underway to re-establish sewage and connect with Salem’s infrastructure.
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Salem solicitor Gary Falatovich said access to the property will be from Boquet Road, with trucks exiting only onto Old Route 66.
Wrigley said the expansion, which includes an area for company trucks to refuel, will give Fuhrer Wholesale almost double its current capacity.
The new distribution center will be near the intersection of two major highways, giving Fuhrer drivers easy access to the Route 22 and 66 corridors.
“Right now, we’re probably at about 370,000 square feet in the South Side,” he said. “But we’re landlocked.”
Wrigley said the project is estimated to be complete by this time next year.
“We’re hoping it will be operational in the fall of 2023,” he said.
Salem commissioners in May approved the project’s site plan. Building permits for the structure have not been issued, nor has a highway occupancy permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. As one of the conditions for approval, Salem commissioners recommended a PennDOT traffic study be undertaken.