Toys"R"Us plans big technology investment in center

Toys"R"Us expects to invest more than $17 million into technology that will streamline operations of its new distribution center east of Sparks.

The company headquartered at Wayne, N.J., said last week the 300,000-square-foot distribution center at Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center will include a robotic order-picking system.

The technology investment also will include warehouse control technology to oversee inbound and outbound shipments.

The company told the Nevada Commission on Economic Development that the facility initially will employ 51 workers at an average wage of $19.91 an hour. Economic development officials said the company also offers excellent benefits to its employees and is known for its assistance to charitable groups.

Full-time employment at the distribution center in Storey County will increase in the near future, the company told representatives of the Northern Nevada Development Authority, which helped develop the company's application for state economic development incentives.

Toys"R"Us said in a statement that it expects to hire 120 full- and part-time workers at the facility. Employment will rise to about 350 late this year as the distribution gears up to fill orders during the holiday season.

(For employment information, see www.ruscareers.com. The company currently is reviewing applications for management positions; it will begin hiring for hourly positions in June.)

The company said it chose the Storey County location because it can serve customers throughout the West with two-day ground delivery service.

Toys"R"Us will devote the northern Nevada facility to fulfillment of orders from its online businesses, Toysrus.com and Babiesrus.com.

The facility, one of 12 distribution centers operated by Toys"R"Us nationwide, is scheduled to begin operation in July.

The distribution center will occupy about half of a building that's stood vacant since it was developed by Development Arts of Reno and completed in 2008.

The environmentally friendly building won initial LEED Gold certification from the United States Green Building Council. It's in the eastern reaches of Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, about three miles east of USA Parkway.

The Nevada Commission on Economic Development projects the Toys"R"Us distribution center will result in an $81.45 million economic impact for the state during the nest 10 years.

The commission approved a package of tax abatements to encourage the company to make its decision.