Ryder System Inc. has opened an 800,000-sq-ft parts packaging and distribution facility in Plainfield, IN, to consolidate Whirlpool Corp.’s after-sale appliance parts packaging in the United States.
The facility replaces operations currently handled by Whirlpool facilities in West Lafayette, IN and similar vendor operations in Michigan City, IN and Benton Harbor, MI. The transition of these operations into the Plainfield facility is expected to conclude by mid-December 2001, Ryder said.
Additionally, along with the consolidation of the parts packaging operations, Ryder is assuming responsibility under an extended agreement for the distribution of Whirlpool’s after-sales appliance parts currently handled by the Whirlpool facility in La Porte, IN. This operation will also be moved to the Plainfield facility beginning in mid-2002.
In addition to the Plainfield operation, Ryder has managed inbound logistics at Whirlpool’s U.S. and Mexico manufacturing locations since 1995 and managed outbound load control at its U.S. manufacturing operations since 1998. Since 1997, Ryder has also produced more than 5,000 sub-assemblies per day for one of Whirlpool’s U.S. manufacturing facilities.