MMP Purchases Former Cabela's Warehouse

MMP Enterprises Inc. of Toronto, Canada announces it has signed the purchase agreement to acquire the former Bass Pro Shops / Cabela’s distribution center at 3200 Rd 101 north of Sidney. Chosen because of the pool of talented people in Sidney and it central location, hiring and operations will begin in June, 2019.

Mark Priemer, president of MMP, says the facility will be used to expand pick-and-pack order fulfillment and warehousing into the United States on behalf of company clients in Canada and around the world.

In January, Priemer initially announced his interest in Sidney, planning at that time to purchase one of Cabela’s corporate headquarters buildings. In the time since then, Premier has been working to meet the requirements of licensing his company and personnel in the U.S. while continuing to negotiate the building purchase.

In the interim, Bass Pro / Cabela’s closed the distribution center, putting it up for sale.

“That (distribution center) was much more suitable for the work we will be doing, so we asked Bass Pro if we could buy that instead,” Priemer told the Sun-Telegraph Monday.

The distribution center already has most of what MMP needs for product handling within its eight buildings. And even with more than 750,000 square feet of space, Priemer said “we hope to put every square foot to use.”

More than that, Priemer’s plans include construction of a manufacturing facility to house MMP’s sister company, Fairlawn Products. While MMP USA is the distribution arm, Fairlawn Products will make the plant-based products the company has developed.

“Fairlawn Products is a manufacturer and online marketer of advanced dietary supplements using proprietary ingredients and manufacturing technologies we have invented, tested and proven,” Premier said. The factory will produce consumer goods in powder, liquid and soft-gel capsule forms, as well as cosmetics. Production standards will conform with current Good Manufacturing Practices.

For materials, Priemer plans to use locally grown products. He said he believes the company will be able to use oils from locally grown canola and sunflowers, and proteins such as those from chick peas.

“Our intention is to work with the farmers of Nebraska to source as many ingredients locally as possible, from protein powders to vegetable oils. We will be hiring experienced marketing professionals in Sidney to develop our websites, and create our social media presentations and sales campaigns”, Dee Sharma, Director of Marketing for Fairlawn Products, said in a press release.

Priemer said he is excited about coming to Sidney, saying he “was taken by the city” from the first time he arrived.

“The community has no quit in it,” Priemer said. “it made a wonderful impression on me.”

MMP took possession of the distribution center last week, and has already begun the process to begin operations. Premier estimates the distribution center should begin operations by summer’s end, and hopes to begin designing the factory in a year.