CDW lauds Nevada business climate

Kevin Rademacher

Thursday, May 19, 2005 | 10:36 a.m.

Three months after signing a lease on a North Las Vegas distribution center, CDW Corp. is touting the benefits of doing business in Nevada.

The company examined several Western locations for its first distribution center outside of the company's suburban Chicago headquarters, and Southern Nevada fit the bill, said Doug Eckrote, senior vice president of purchasing and operations.

Eckrote and other CDW executives are in town this week for a groundbreaking ceremony at the North Las Vegas site. Construction, however, began in February and the center is expected to be operational by the end of the year.

CDW is a leading provider of technology products and services to business, government, and educational organizations. The 513,240-square-foot distribution center is located at 3717 Bay Lake Trail, near Craig and Pecos roads.

The first criterion for selecting the site was the ability to reach critical shipping channels, Eckrote said. Early in the process CDW executives met with officials from FedEx, UPS and DHL as well as product manufacturers to determine the ideal location to ensure the company's expectation of same-day shipping for customers.

"When we took all that an weighed it together, this made perfect sense," he said.

The company plans to transfer 30 employees from Illinois to Nevada. Including those workers, CDW initially will employ 170 to 180 people at the Nevada distribution center. Company officials said the center could eventually employ about 500 people.

Eckrote also said CDW liked the makeup of the local workforce. He emphasized that the workers the company will hire are high quality.

"We would consider this a skilled workforce," he said of the future CDW employees. In addition to shipping, receiving, stocking and billing positions, the company will also hire technically savvy employees to configure computer systems to meet customers specifications.

Ray Nair, CDW's director of West Coast distribution, said employess will receive 40 to 50 hours of in-class training as well as training on live products in the center before distribution begins.

He also said the company is likely to work with existing local training programs as well as UNLV and the Community College of Southern Nevada.

"We're very interested in some of the services they offer," Nair said.

If Las Vegas could not provide those employees and educational services needed, CDW would be moving elsewhere, Eckrote said.

"That was part of the due diligence we went through," he said. "We are confident in that, plus we are confident in the culture CDW brings. we are going to be the employer of choice."

Eckrote said that the customer service culture in the valley -- fostered by the hotel and casino industries -- fits well with CDW.

"We want people that can understand how their job affects the customer," he said. "That's easy for someone taking calls, but it's harder for a shipping employee to grasp how a box they handle makes an impression."

Michael Montandon, mayor of North Las Vegas, was not surprised by CDW's assessment of the local landscape.

"Once companies get out here and find out about the labor force, the telecommunications that's here, they are really impressed," he said.

Somer Hollingsworth, chief executive of the Nevada Development Authority, said CDW could begin a wave of relocations.

"We're going to take advantage of that friendship and them being here," he said. "We are going to call the companies that they do business with, and this opens doors for us. When we get something like that we have to appreciate it and we have to build on it."

Eckrote said it would not be uncommon for suppliers to follow CDW into a city.

"We've seen that happen before where we can draw other people in," he said.

Costs for the center are expected to be between $30 million and $40 million for machinery, equipment, and leasehold improvements. CDW expects to incur another $5 million to $6 million of operating and start-up costs related to the facility.