A major grocery wholesaler has opened a 1 million-square-foot distribution center in southern Manatee County, on the border with Sarasota County. The new facility for UNFI, which stands for United Natural Foods Inc., is 35% bigger than its previous one in the area.
Th UNFI facility is at 8380 21st St. E. in the SRQ Logistics Center near the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. The center, and the new facility, is on the north side of the intersection of University Parkway and U.S. 301, which separates Manatee with Sarasota County. Amazon is among the other tenants in the SRQ Logistics Center.
The newly built distribution center will be the first for UNFI to use Knapp’s Pick-it-Easy Robot, which incorporates AI to continuously learn about objects it is gripping and placing, according to a statement. And it will be the second for the company to employ Knapp’s Goods-to-Person automation, which transports items from the warehouse to employees at fixed workstations, the company adds. Knapp is a technology company that provides warehouse logistics solutions…