A national supply chain management company celebrated the grand opening of its new Elizabethton location Tuesday with a picnic for employees.
The new location in Elizabethton will create about 200 jobs by the end of the year, Fidelitone President and Chief Operating Officer Josh Johnson said.
Fidelitone provides warehouse, order fulfillment and value-added product services for a variety of companies that operate mail order or online shopping businesses. The Fidelitone warehouse stores the merchandise for clients, and when an order comes in, Fidelitone employees collect, package and ship the products.
“It’s mainly a pick-and-pack operation, but we do have some value-added products as well, such as embroidery and engraving,” said Jon Priest, president of order fulfillment for Fidelitone.
While the company may be new to Elizabethton, they are not newcomers to the region.
“We’ve had some operations in the area before, but this new location provides us with a great opportunity for growth,” Johnson said. “We are excited about the consolidation of our two facilities in Johnson City and Gray here at this new facility.”
While the company celebrated the grand opening in Elizabethton on Tuesday, the new facility is not operating at full capacity yet, Priest said.
“We are still in a bit of a transition period,” he said. “We’ve got about 80 people working here today.”
As the company completes the consolidation of the Johnson City and Gray warehouses to the new Elizabethton facility not only will it bring existing jobs, but the company will be expanding operations as well, Priest said.
“We will be adding a significant number of jobs immediately,” he said, adding it was estimated that 65-75 new positions would be created in the company for the new Elizabethton facility. “We will probably ramp that up even more around the Christmas shopping season.”
Currently, Fidelitone is hiring for some of the new jobs created at the new location.
“We are looking at all levels of employment,” Priest said. “Everything from entry level to managers and supervisors. We are also looking for call center employees because we do have a call center here as well.”
Both Priest and Johnson touted how important the employees are to the firm and how important it is for the company to find its place in the community.
“It’s about family here and making sure we take care of people,” Priest said. “We’re trying to put down roots in the community. Every year we’re growing and we need a place of our own like this.”
Johnson is excited by the things the company will be able to provide its employees through the consolidation.
“It’s a great opportunity to bring a better quality of work environment to our employees,” he said. “It’s really about the employees and the environment we are creating.”
“Fidelitone has been a family-owned business since 1929 and that is something we’re really proud of.”
The process to consolidate the two operations in Washington County to a single facility began about two years ago, Johnson said.
“There is a lot that goes into starting a new facility and we are so thankful for all the cooperation and support we’ve gotten from Carter County Tomorrow,” he said.