Gov. Gregoire celebrates grand opening of IKEA distribution center

For Immediate Release: September 17, 2008

SPANAWAY � Gov. Chris Gregoire today helped celebrate the grand opening of IKEA�s new distribution center in Spanaway.

�IKEA�s investment in this new facility is one more vote of confidence in Washington�s future, and one more indication that smart businesses know what this state offers,� Gregoire said during the ceremony.

The new facility spans 830,000 square feet, and will employ 125. The distribution center will serve Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and the western Canadian provinces. IKEA plans to maintain more than 10,000 items of inventory at the new center, all of which will be shipped through the Port of Tacoma and trucked to the new facility for processing and shipment.

�This facility is here in part because of its proximity to the Port of Tacoma,� Gregoire said. �And the Port of Tacoma is one of the big engines that drives Washington�s economy with imports of products like IKEA�s, and exports of airplanes, software and other products made here.�

�A facility in Washington is a perfect fit for our global business needs,� said Keith Keller, distribution services president of IKEA North America. �Locating our Northwest Distribution Center in Washington allows us to benefit from the state�s skilled workforce, its diversified economy and its proximity to freight mobility.�

Gregoire is committed to promoting and expanding business in the state of Washington. The governor�s �Next Washington� plan lays out strategies and initiatives to encourage business development and growth, and has helped lead to the creation of more than 200,000 jobs in Washington since she took office. Forbes magazine recently ranked Washington as the 3rd best state to do business. The Milken Institute has named Tacoma as the 8th best-performing city in the nation for creating and sustaining jobs as well as for economic growth.

In 2007, Gregoire launched her �Container Ports Initiative,� a plan to make critical investments in the state�s infrastructure so that goods and products can be delivered to their markets in a timely fashion. The initiative calls for strategies to address rail capacity, truck freight movement, and land use compatibility and protection issues.