Today, a new Dot Foods warehouse breakroom was unveiled to its employees. Dot began work on the $2.9 million renovation and expansion of the freezer break room in March of this year. The facility is used by 400 employees each day.
"We're incredibly excited about this project," said John Long, senior vice president of warehousing. "Anytime we can offer something unique to our employees, Dot wants to do that. Our frozen warehouse is an integral part of the operations at Dot's largest distribution center. Improvements like those we've made in this project are one way we can better serve our employees."
The existing frozen warehouse break room received a major facelift. Dot also added 4,800 square feet to the existing space, along with 4,000 square feet of covered, outdoor area. Employees were greeted with amenities including a new open market vending system with a larger variety of food and drink options, ping pong and pool tables, and 700 new lockers when they began using the new facility in late November. Feedback from employees influenced decisions on the entertainment options, equipment, and vending options included in the new break room facility.
"You can really tell they listened to us," said Chuy Alferez, an order selector in Dot's frozen warehouse. "We used to have trouble with the microwaves. There weren't enough of them in the old break room. Now there are plenty. We have a lot more room now, and it makes breaks even better. It's nice to work for a company that wants to keep trying to make things better for their employees."
"The improvements we've made in the frozen warehouse break room are designed to accommodate the growth we're seeing as a company now and the next few years down the road," Dot Foods President Dick Tracy explained. "We've been fortunate with our continued growth year after year. As the business gets bigger, we need to increase the size of our team."
This year, Dot climbed two spots on Forbes list of Largest Private Companiesto #63. All locations, including Mt. Sterling, are hiring qualified individuals for warehouse and driver positions. Dot plans to hire 50 people to the Mt. Sterling warehouse team in 2018.
The breakroom is one of two major facility improvement projects at Dot's corporate headquarters this year, located at 1 Dot Way in Mt. Sterling. A 60,000 square foot expansion of the main office building is also underway. The office building project is schedule to wrap up next spring.
Local contractors contributing to the work include: Brown Electric; Waterkotte Construction; Don Waterkotte & Sons Construction; Peters Heating & Cooling; Vinson & Sill Plumbing; Rees Construction; Gunn Construction; Klingner Geotechnics; Shortridge Construction; Classique Signs & Engraving; Resource One; Mr. K's Fabric Shop; Moore's Floors; and A.H. Kemner & Sons. Arcturis is the architect with Klingner Engineering designing the civil work. SM Wilson is the general contractor.