Consumer demand pushes expansion

Employees at American Eagle Distribution Center know their addition. For example, 394,000 square feet, plus consumer demand plus the extra units to meet it equals a need for expansion.

Along with the 500,000 square-foot addition, called Ottawa 2, completed last May, American Eagle is adding another 100,000 square feet to the original building and is planning to add another 178,000 square feet by the end of the year, Senior General Manager Richard Stukus said.

A 100,000 square foot addition to the original building, or Ottawa 1, will be an extension to the retail distribution center, and the planned 178,000 square foot addition will house excess freight caused by high consumer demand.

The math didn’t stop there. Along with the construction of more than 700,000 square feet of new building comes the need to add new employees.

“The expansion adds the known stability of a national retailer who is employing local talent,” Stukus said.

Original projections estimated 320 jobs would be added over the course of the next four years. However, since Ottawa 2 went live last spring, 360 new employees have been added to the distribution center, Stukus said.

“We’ll continue to hire because our business continues to grow year by year,” Stukus said.

A year full of additions crescendoed into the holiday season, presenting what Stukus said was the year’s biggest challenge. Consumer demand was higher than predicted, but American Eagle was able to find employees to get them through the busy time.

“We kind of underestimated the amount of manpower we needed during the holiday season,” Stukus said.

While providing a steady work environment for people in the community is rewarding, Stukus said he enjoys being able to build friendly relationships with his co-workers which allows him to know them on a personal level. For example, he likes being able to attend the company Christmas party and meet employees’ families.

“If you’re not doing that, then what are you in the business for?” Stukus said.

Not only does American Eagle pay wages to many Ottawa citizens — from those doing distribution work to those doing janitorial jobs — Stukus said the majority of those wages are spent in Franklin County, making a stable economic environment.

American Eagle likes to stay involved in the community by participating in many service events, and also by inviting people in the community to come learn about the facilities. The firm is trying to get a chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters started in Franklin County.

“We want to be a participating citizen in the community,” Stukus said.

When American Eagle realized the strain it would put on the community, it declined a retroactive state-enacted 18-month extension on its 10-year tax abatement, which was an incentive to bring the business here.

“We realized at that point in time that the community. . .  just like any other business, budgeted that income,” Stukus said.

The retroactive extension was not in the best interest of either the community or the company. Stukus said that not taking the money would be more beneficial to the company than losing community support.

“We don’t want to go into this without the support of the community,” Stukus said.