Hanover Township, Luzerne County, PA -
Adidas is off and running, and looking to expand their team in its new distribution center in the Hanover Ridge Trade Center.
The international sportswear manufacturer, which opened its new distribution center in the Hanover Ridge Trade Center in June, employs 162 people and plans to create up to 500 new jobs overall.
“We have a lot of jobs available,” Director of Operations Felix Felder said during an interview and tour of the 843,000-square-foot facility on Wednesday.
While most of those jobs relate to core distribution operations - picking and packing products, forklift operators, yard truck drivers, for example - Adidas also is looking for people in other functions ranging from facilities and maintenance to finance.
“There's still a lot of roles open in a lot of areas,” Felder said.
The question sure to be on local minds: How much do the jobs pay?
“We can't share the exact pay rate,” Felder said, but added that the company had researched the local wages and cost of living and offers what it feels are competitive pay and benefits.
“We've positioned ourselves solidly in the top 75 to 80 percentile, to make sure people can live comfortably off our wage, so we can attract people,” he explained, saying Adidas wants to be “an employer of choice” for the region.
That, Felder added, is vital given the area's low unemployment - 4.6% in May, according to the most recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statisics.
“I would feel comfortable putting us against any company around here and have us come out on top,” he said.
Those interested in working at the Hanover Township center can apply online at:
https://careers.adidas-group.com/locations/hubs/wilkes-barre
Transportation benefits
Felder acknowledged that the center is finding some new employees coming from up to 50 miles away, and said that Adidas has taken steps to make commuting easier for all.
The company has a partnership with Enterprise Rent-A-Car offering monthly rentals to staffers coming from longer distances - Hazleton, for example - ranging from sedans to 15-passenger vehicles. Adidas offers commuter benefits, so individuals or groups of employees have reliable transportation to work at a very low cost.
Adidas also has teamed up with neighboring employers in the industrial park to collaborate with Hazleton transportation officials provide direct bus service to the park, which also is served by Luzerne County Transportation Authority routes.
‘I love the brand'
A Detroit native, Felder is a veteran of the supply chain distribution industry whose first logistics job was with UPS. He also has a longtime passion for Adidas' products, which is what brought him to the job and the region.
“I love the brand. I've been living my life through Adidas since I was five years old,” Felder said.
“My first rap song was ‘My Adidas,' and I was an athlete all through my life, high school college things like that. Oddly enough, all my schools were sponsored by Adidas. So you know, it's the brand I've lived my life in.”
Felder also said he was drawn to the company's commitments to environmental sustainability, diversity and inclusion - this year's focus has been women in sports, he explained.
Speed and efficiency
During the tour, Felder also pointed out that the Hanover Township facility is designed to produce minimal waste, with a particular emphasis on recycling and extremely low use of plastics.
The distribution area is bright, spacious and clean, with employees clad in color-coded vests based on their role and modern machinery whisking products along the line for delivery - with its speed-packing machines and automated storage and picking equipment, the center can ship up to 200,000 units of product on peak days, company spokesperson Maria Culp said.
It can package and ship orders within just two hours of purchase, with the ability to deliver to the Northeast in one day and anywhere in the country within two days, Felder said. But the center, which is nearly as big as 15 football fields, is in Northeastern Pennsylvania for a reason: Proximity to the Big Apple.
“New York IS the factor,” Felder said.
“In a nutshell, if we win those key cities that influence the world, we'll win the rest of the country,” he said of Adidas' strategy. “If we can get everyone in New York wearing the shoes, that'll trickle down to Tulsa, Oklahoma.”
And, he said, Adidas looks forward to a day when it may even be able to provide same day service to customers in the metro New York market.
Adidas has four other distribution centers in North America, located in South Carolina, Indiana, California and outside of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. While the others are larger than this one, none is close to New York, and Hanover Township stands out for the speed and type of service it provides.
In addition to serving Adidas retail stores, such as the one at the Crossings Premium Outlets in Tannersville, the center sells a full range of shoes, apparel and equipment to individual consumers through e-commerce.
While the plan for Hanover Township had been to do 75% retail business, it is on track to do 50% of its business through e-commerce by year's end.
“Our e-commerce division is the fastest growing division in our company, they're growing at double digit numbers every year for the past five years and that trend is continuing,” Felder said.
