Kraft Foods, Springfield Underground and Exel have combined to open a 400,000-square-foot below-ground warehouse in Springfield, Mo. Exel operates the facility, a central distribution center for the food industry giant.

Environmental concerns were very much in mind, when Kraft leased the facility from Springfield Underground, says David Klavsons, Kraft vice president of logistics. "We're extremely excited about this new facility, which we estimate will use 65 percent less electricity than a comparable surface warehouse. The energy savings roughly equates to the annual power requirements of 700 homes."

He added that by consolidating distribution and reducing multiple stops by Kraft and customer trucks, an estimated 180,000 gallons of fuel may be saved, and carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by approximately 4 million pounds, annually.

"This facility incorporates all of the best practices that we learned in 48 years of underground development," says Louis Griesemer, president and CEO of Springfield Underground Inc. "The energy efficiency, security and other amenities of the underground make this a state-of-the-art distribution facility. This is our single largest project and brings our underground square footage to over 2.2 million of developed space."

Within the facility, Exel provides full-service inbound and outbound solutions, including storage of finished goods, order picking and fulfillment services.

Visit www.kraft.com, www.springfieldunderground.com and www.exel.com