Exchange Celebrates Opening of USAG Humphreys Distribution Center, Bakery
The Army & Air Force Exchange Service and Eighth Army command cut the ribbon on a new, 255,800-square-foot distribution center and bakery Nov. 19 at U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys, the culmination of the Department of Defense retailer’s nine-year effort to make Humphreys home for Warfighters and their families. From left, Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Cobb, Eighth Army Senior Enlisted Advisor; Ann Yi, USAG Humphreys Exchange General Manager; Lt. Gen. Willard Burleson, Eighth Army Commanding General; Scott Bonner, Exchange Pacific Regional Vice President; Mrs. Theresa LaCamera, wife of U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera; Nick DeVincenzo, Exchange Pacific Regional Distribution Center Manager; and Mr. Chon, Chunho, Exchange Korea Distribution Center Manager.
The Exchange launched a new era of service and support for the Pacific military community with the unveiling of a new distribution center and bakery at U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys.
Exchange Director/CEO Tom Shull, Eighth Army Commanding General Lt. Gen. Willard Burleson, Exchange Chief Operating Officer Jason Rosenberg, Pacific Regional Vice President Scott Bonner and Pacific Regional Distribution Center Manager Nick DeVincenzo delivered remarks at the 255,800-square-foot facility’s grand opening on Nov. 19.
“This is a great day for the Exchange and the heroes and families serving in Korea,” Shull said. “Having the distribution center and bakery on USAG Humphreys makes delivery of needed tastes of home faster and more efficient, strengthening our mission to make Humphreys home for Warfighters and their families.”
The grand opening was the culmination of a nine-year effort to relocate most of the Exchange’s Korea operations in support of the Yongsan Relocation Plan, a U.S. Army effort to move most forces and command activities from Seoul and other parts of the country to Humphreys.
Read more: Click here to learn about Korea associates’ dedication to the Exchange mission during the Korea Exchange Transformation.
The new facility, the final Exchange operation to move as part of the larger Korea relocation effort, replaces the distribution center and bakery that had operated out of Camp Market since 1975. Located about 40 miles north of USAG Humphreys, in Incheon, South Korea, the Camp Market operation was spread across a complex of nine buildings, some of which date back to the camp’s original construction by the Imperial Japanese Army in the mid-1930s.
“This state-of-the-art distribution center and bakery stands as a testament to the Exchange’s longstanding commitment to troops and families living and serving on the peninsula,” Burleson said. “The Exchange team’s efforts over the past nine years have been critical in preparing U.S. Forces Korea, Eighth Army and U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys for the next chapter of the U.S. mission in Korea.”
Built by the Republic of Korea, the distribution center is the Exchange’s largest in the Pacific, with more than double the pallet storage capacity of Camp Market and a team of nearly 175 associates including fleet and facility management personnel. In addition to shipping merchandise to Exchanges in Korea, the distribution center supplies stores on military installations in Japan, Okinawa, Guam, Kwajalein Atoll, Saipan and American Samoa.
The facility’s 25,000-square-foot bakery produces goods from American name brands such Wonder Bread and, in a first for Korea Exchanges, Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Staffed by a team of 44 associates, the bakery also makes bread, buns, cakes, chips, tortillas and more for distribution to Exchange main stores, restaurants and Express convenience stores, as well as commissaries, Department of Defense Education Activity schools, dining facilities and other DoD entities throughout Korea.
The new location is estimated to reduce travel distances by 31% compared with Camp Market, saving the Exchange about $225,000 in transportation costs over five years and reducing the organization’s carbon footprint.
The facility’s move follows the November 2017 opening of a 300,000-square-foot Exchange shopping center at Humphreys, as well as the opening of 46 and relocation of 19 Exchange facilities as part of the broader Korea relocation effort. About 44,000 personnel are expected to live and work at Humphreys following the completion of the Yongsan Relocation Plan.
Want to learn more about the Exchange’s previous distribution center and bakery at Camp Market? Click here for an overview of Camp Market’s fascinating history.
