October 1, 2015

Latest Construction Technology – New to the Cedar Valley – Key to Martin Bros. Expansion

Martin Bros. Distributing Co., Inc. recently broke ground on a new expansion to their Cedar Falls, Iowa facilities that will add 77,000-square-feet of warehouse space and create 35 additional jobs.

One of the first phases of the project involves installing a “soil nail” wall, about 2,000 feet long, ranging in height from 8 to 24 feet.

The wall may be the first of its kind in the Cedar Valley, said Bradley Best, president of Waterloo-based Peters Construction Corporation, the project’s general contractor.

“It’s pretty unique,” Best said.

The technology behind the wall has been used in some major construction projects, Best noted, including AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, which opened as the home field of the Dallas Cowboys in 2009.

The technology is necessary to allow a high vertical wall for a large expansion that can bear inordinate loads and leave room for emergency access to the building.

The wall is anchored into the surrounding dirt by rods that are 20 to 30 feet long.

“It allows us to go pretty much straight up and down, holding a lot of flat ground behind the wall for a bigger building expansion,” said Ethan DeWall, Martin Bros. Director of Warehousing.

Construction of this new expansion, the eighth major building project for Martin Bros. since 1998, is anticipated to be completed in 2016.

Martin Bros. is a full-line, independent, family-owned foodservice distributor that has been serving Iowa and seven surrounding states for 75 years. The company offers state-of-the-art broadline distributing to restaurants, schools, senior living facilities and other institutions. They are committed to delivering trusted brands to their customers as well as offering value-added services such as innovative digital tools, menu design, nutritional resources, culinary advising and much more.

"We're excited to get this project going," said Jeff Martin, Martin Bros. Chief Financial Officer. "We've been seeing pretty good growth over the last several years, so we're happy to be in this position."

For more information on Martin Bros., visit www.martinbros.com.

STORY SOURCE: Martin Bros., 6623 Chancellor Drive, Cedar Falls, IA 50613

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