Electronics firm chooses Summerville for new distribution center

After considering a host of other locations, including Savannah, Ga., and Lexington, Ky., Linear LLC of Carlsbad, Calif., has chosen Summerville as the site of its new distribution center.

In addition to effectively recycling the 162,000-square-foot former Belk distribution center in Berkeley County, the company’s $1 million investment brings 40 additional jobs to the area and the promise of more to come.

“We walked through the facility this morning and said, ‘We already need more space; we’ll have to expand,’” said Linear’s chairman and CEO Grant D. Rummell during the official announcement of the decision before the Charleston Regional Development Alliance.

“Expansions are good,” said Berkeley County Supervisor James H. Rozier Jr. “Business success, expansion and additional jobs for the area are what it’s all about.”

Linear LLC is part of the Nortek family of companies that manufactures electronic products for home, business and medical facilities’ uses. Rummell said the company has grown significantly over the years, mainly by acquiring other electronics outfits, but has endeavored to keep these smaller companies’ brands alive.

“We’ve gathered subsidiaries rather than absorbed them,” he said.

But keeping the members of the corporate family independent led to inefficiencies, namely that each was responsible for its own distribution network. The new facility combines their distribution under one roof for the first time.

“This is a new direction for us,” Rummell said. “We’ve never done this before, knew we didn’t have all the answers in regard to how to make it work, and we really appreciate the help we received from the business alliance and the government officials here.”

Rummell told the Business Journal that the choice of Charleston over other highly desirable communities “wasn’t rocket science, but rather came down to a combination of factors.

“First of all, your economic development people came forward and presented information on what was available to us in Charleston up front,” he said.

“The quality of the port—the fact that it was a deep-water facility, non-union and had an attitude of getting things in and out quickly—was obviously a major factor because we anticipate importing 1,000 containers a year and an extra day in transport costs us money,” Rummell said.

“Then, the alliance made us aware of all the buildings that were available and helped us weigh our choice of possible locations. Finally, the people involved stepped up, called, asked about our needs … there was a personal interaction and personal level of attention that figured significantly in our ultimate decision,” he said.

“You know, ultimately, it comes down to the little things,” Rummell explained. “Charleston had the things we needed and the people to make it work.”