Grantsville, UT

What has 15 miles of conveyor belts in Tooele County?

We've had a Walmart in Tooele for a few years, as many other towns do, but most of you have never had the opportunity to see what's behind keeping the shelves full.

Back in 2005, Walmart Distribution Center 7026 opened in Grantsville.

I had the opportunity to take a tour of the facility today with the Tooele County Chamber of Commerce. To get a feel for the sheer size of this place, picture 6 fullsize Walmarts under 1 roof. That's 1.25 MILLION square feet! Watching the (mostly) automated conveyor system sort freight going to 65 different stores in the region faster than we could see was an incredible sight.

Here's some incredible numbers.

How about the ability to ship as many as 18,000 cases per hour, with an average of 120,000 cases a day?

31,000 truck loads a year?

1 million miles per year in the trucks?

However, there are a couple of other facts that make this facility important to me. First, the 785 employees, mostly from the area make Walmart the #3 employer in Tooele County, after the government and the Tooele County School district. Secondly, the management and associates contribute to the community in a huge way. Remember the Easter egg hunt? They donated 31 kids bikes. We asked for 8. Grantsville Elementary burns down? They fill a school bus with books and supplies. Every event, every cause in Tooele County, they are there.

Thanks to Jeff Loafman for a very enlightening tour and for continued service to their community!

Walmart...... Your a great neighbor, and a real asset to the County Of Tooele.

Published Wednesday, June 09, 2010 2:43 PM by Chris & Berna Sloan