Warehouse closure not expected to seriously affect Lyon County

Access Business Group is closing its 185,000-square-foot distribution warehouse at 95 Airport Vista Boulevard in Dayton.

Darren Puskarich, director of North American distribution for the company, said Access owns the building and no decision has been made concerning its disposition.

The Dayton operation will be gradually phased out and the business is expected to close by October.

The company has partnered with Starbucks to find jobs for the 37 employees to be displaced by the move.

Puskarich said there's been a significant change in the way one of their biggest customers, Quixtar, does business. Quixtar, once known as Amway, started using an e-commerce ordering platform a couple of years ago.

"They deal more directly with their customers and the size of the orders is much smaller," he said. "That requires less technology."

Access develops, manufactures, and distributes a wide array of consumable and durable products, from cosmetics to vitamins to air and water treatment systems.

The change was one of the primary reasons for the closing of two United States distribution sites, in Nevada and New Jersey.

Ed Peck, director of client services for the Lyon County Economic Development Authority, said any loss hurts the county, but this closure isn't expected to seriously affect the local economy.

"Overall, the economy in Lyon County is the fastest growing in the state, in both industry and residential properties," he said.

He qualified that statement saying Clark County still draws more people and business, but proportionately, Lyon County is growing faster.

"That's important," he said. "We're continually getting new client leads for companies and we have a shortage of available industrial property in Lyon County. The Access distribution site is an excellent location. When businesses leave it usually isn't long before they're replaced.

"The industrial park in Fernley has (also) grown dramatically over the last five years," Peck said. "The state government is pro business and Lyon County streamlines approvals for (business-related) permits."