The North West Company has signed a lease with the Port of Tacoma that will create new jobs and strengthen Tacoma's trade connections with Alaska. The company will lease a 100,000 square-foot warehouse in the Port area, and ship goods to Alaska on Horizon Lines, as well as on Totem Ocean Trailer Express.

The company's new operation is expected to create more than 30 new jobs in the Tacoma area. "These are new jobs that are coming into this port. It's new activity," said Bob Cain, vice president of logistics for the North West Company. "We intend to be a long-term partner, because of our long-term investment in Alaska."

The company plans to start operating from their new warehouse location in December, using it for the storage and distribution of food and retail products for Alaska.

The warehouse facility in Tacoma will also serve the company's Alaska wholesale business, known as Frontier Expeditors and Span Alaska Sales. Alaska is the Port's third largest trading partner.

"I am excited for our company to be a tenant in this property," said Cain. "It's primarily going to be used to support our business that supports our largest rural retail operator in Alaska from Barrow all the way down through Southeast Alaska." The Port is working with Tacoma Public Utilities to install energy-efficient lighting as part of the tenant improvements it is making in the building.

The North West Company, which is based in Winnipeg, Canada, is the parent company of AC Value Center (AC), the largest retailer in rural Alaska. AC has 33 combination food, general merchandise and Quickstop stores.

The North West Company also has retail operations in the Pacific and Caribbean through their Cost-U-Less stores. "I believe the key is that this PNW warehouse gives us new flexibility for supplying our Cost-U-Less markets," said Cain, "with opportunities that coincide with our operation." The company ships dog food and beverages through Tacoma to its Pacific stores.

Contact: Rod Koon, Port of Tacoma, (253) 383-9462