Benco Dental, a distributor of dental products and equipment, will open a headquarters and distribution center in CenterPoint Commerce and Trade Park in Jenkins Township in a much larger facility than initially planned.
The $30 million project will combine two locations that house the company's headquarters and main distribution center as well as a secondary warehouse into 272,800 square feet of space, said Benco spokesman Matt Van Stone.
Benco purchased a shell on a 19.65-acre parcel at 289 CenterPoint Boulevard in March from Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services, and the company plans to open there before the end of the year, he said.
The company's operation is now divided between two warehouses and offices on Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilkes-Barre and Bear Creek Boulevard in Wilkes-Barre. More than 400 employees will move from these sites into the new location. The company is growing, and more jobs will be created, Mr. Van Stone said, but he could not yet say how many.
Benco is the nation's fastest-growing dental distributor. Headquartered in Wilkes-Barre with distribution centers also in Fort Wayne, Ind., Jacksonville, Fla., and Dallas, Texas, Benco serves more than 20,000 dental practices and laboratories in 34 states.
The company started with founder Benjamin Cohen selling dental instruments out of a 100-pound carrying case in 1924. After six years, Mr. Cohen moved to Northeast Pennsylvania with his wife, Kitty, and opened Benco Dental in 1930.
