Eastern Iowa's large warehouses work to preserve and protect

Freight can arrive on pallets, filled with cases or bagged. Dry bulk material can be brought in in so-called “super sacks” that weigh up to 2,500 pounds each.

Rolls of paper sometimes exceeding 3,000 pounds, as well as product stored in totes - large corrugate containers 40-by-48-by-60 inches in size - and individual cartons are stacked floor to ceiling.

Some arrive in international containers and have to be unloaded by hand, which is referred to in the trade as “lumping,” explained Dan Curran, director of business development for Worley Companies of Cedar Rapids, which includes Worley Warehousing.

A myriad of warehouses and storage facilities dot the Corridor. But only a few provide the large space needed to hold some of the bigger industrial output.

“We don't operate warehousing in the traditional sense. We operate warehouses maintained to food-grade standards. Our facilities are inspection-ready, every day,” Curran said.

Worley has more than two million square feet of facilities. The largest in the metro area is one million square feet.

Worley's facilities are all registered with the Food and Drug Administration for bioterrorism concerns, as well as certified organic by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

Worley supports many food manufacturing facilities by storing their raw materials, which may require a temperature-controlled environment.

“We do mock recalls regularly to ensure, if the need would arise, our personnel and systems immediately respond identifying the location of any product identified,” Curran said.

Some of Worley's clients are Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) certified.

Curran noted that along with its temperature controlled and ambient storage environments, delivery and order fulfillment, Worley can provide labeling for specific marketing events, track expiration dates, co-packing, bundling and display building - including product displays on counters, shelves, floor or aisle displays.

He also pointed out that the company's facilities are maintained to Good Manufacturing Practices standards, which are a stringent comprehensive guideline.

Curran explained that business-to-business shipping is traditional manufacturing support, either direct store delivery or to a retail distribution center of pallets or cases of finished product. The company ships to wholesale, retail and individual consumers.

Worley also physically receives product to pick-and-pack for shipments to individual consumers.

Bob Worley, who died last year, established the company in 1977. It remains family-owned, with Brandt and Blaine Worley, as president and executive vice president respectively, managing daily operations.

Pick up, store and deliver

Another large warehouse operator, GSTC Logistics, offers 735,000 square feet of storage space in four different cities in Iowa, with the largest, at 414,000 square feet, in the Linn County portion of Walford. GSTC's other warehousing facilities are in Ottumwa, Oskaloosa and Fremont.

GSTC - Gordon Sevig Trucking Co. - has been in business for 29 years, providing warehousing and distribution services and nationwide trucking, said Jason Miller, GSTC Logistics director of operations.

Services at the Walford GSTC facility, with its 414,000 square feet of public and contract warehousing situated near Interstate 380 and I-80, includes food grade storage, monitored sprinkler and entry alarm systems, computerized inventory management, and shuttle service.

The company offers inventory management systems, including real-time reporting, Miller said.

“We'll arrange to pick up, store and deliver product based on your requirements,” Miller said.

GSTC's multiple warehouse locations in Iowa provide quick lead times for its customers, he added.

Miller said GSTC Logistics trucks can short- or long-haul customers' product. GPS can track products in-transit location, complete with real-time delivery status.