June 17, 2008

Governor Doyle Welcomes Gordon Food Service to Wisconsin
New Distribution Center Expected to Bring 375 Jobs to State

Tony Hozeny,
Department of Commerce

Governor Jim Doyle today announced that Gordon Food Service (GFS) will construct and equip a 575,000-square-foot distribution center in Kenosha. The new Kenosha facility is expected to create up to 375 jobs for Wisconsin residents.

“Gordon Food Service is a well-known industry leader, and I’m delighted to welcome them to Wisconsin. We look forward to a long and successful partnership with the company,” Governor Doyle said. “Wisconsin has so many great assets – outstanding schools and communities, a history of innovation, the hardest working people anywhere in the world, and a quality of life that is second to none. We have grown Wisconsin by making it the premier place in the world for manufacturers, agricultural producers, and new economy businesses looking to start or expand their operations.”

Governor Doyle is providing a $1 million loan to support the project. It will be the company’s tenth distribution center in the United States and its first in Wisconsin.

Gordon Food Service, founded in 1897 and based in Grand Rapids, MI, is North America’s largest family-owned and managed broadline foodservice distributor. Gordon Food Service is an international corporation offering more than 16,000 GFS and nationally branded products to more than 45,000 customers in 15 states within the United States and throughout Canada. The company also operates 127 GFS Marketplace retail stores. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.gfs.com.