The governor traveled to rural western Missouri’s Belton this week to help cut the ribbon on a new 800,000 square foot e-Commerce fulfillment center, that’s located near I-49. State Department of Economic Development (DED) director Rob Dixon says Chewy has seen enormous growth.

Chewy has announced plans to hire 1,600 employees in the Belton region at their distribution center, near I-49. They’re still hiring (August 11, 2021 photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

“Anybody that has a pet or knows people that do has probably heard of Chewy.com, and that’s the e-Commerce retailer that has come into our state to open a massive distribution, we call it a fulfillment center, but it’s a distribution center,” Dixon says.

Dixon tells Missourinet that Chewy plans to hire 1,600 employees in the Belton region, over the next few years. The average salary for those jobs will be about $33,000. Anyone interested in applying can do so at Chewy.com.

He credits Missouri’s emphasis on infrastructure and workforce development for landing the center, and predicts it will have a ripple effect in Belton and beyond.

“And that means there’s going to be 1,600 Missouri families that folks get up every single day, they go to work, they earn a living, they take care of their families. They buy a new truck, buy a new car. Able to take care of themselves and their needs,” says Dixon.

He emphasizes that these are new jobs, new investments and new construction in Belton, which is south of Kansas City.

Governor Mike Parson, who joined Dixon in Belton, says the facility will benefit Missourians for in the Kansas City region for generations to come.

Belton Mayor Norman Larkey Sr. also attended this week’s ribbon-cutting.

“It was a great day when Chewy selected the city of Belton for its Missouri eCommerce fulfillment center. Today’s formal opening was an even better day- for our residents who now have the opportunity to work for a strong, pet industry leader in a variety of quality jobs; and for the city, as a whole, as we reap the benefit of this investment in our community,” Mayor Larkey says, in a written statement.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) director Rob Dixon about Chewy in Belton, which was recorded on August 11, 2021:

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