History of the East Stroudsburg, PA Warehouse

In life, change is the only constant. As Wholesale Pallet Rack Products continued to grow in 2015, we came upon the opportunity to better serve our East Coast distributors. We opened a new, strategically located pallet racking warehouse in Pennsylvania.

Our search led us to an empty, run-down warehouse in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania in the Pocono Region of the state. The only occupant of the East Stroudsburg warehouse at the time was a nonprofit that had been given permission to use the space. The property was overdue for some major maintenance and repairs.

Throughout the summer of 2015, Josh, Linda, Rich, Dale, and Jackie, as well as friends they met along the way, worked from sun-up to sun-down. They transformed the old Rosen’s Furniture warehouse into what has now been operating as WPRP’s East Stroudsburg pallet rack shipping location. Check out our current PA inventory.

Our friend, film producer Ted Cahn, created a short video on the journey to finding WPRP’s new pallet rack home in Pennsylvania. It captures the renovation and revitalization process from the first drive up to the warehouse to its current state — an efficient, fully operational pallet rack shipping, stocking, and receiving facility.

 

The video begins as Josh is pulling up to the warehouse. The warehouse was enclosed by overgrown trees and broken fences, having gone largely unused and unmaintained without a commercial tenant. Both the inside and outside of the property were difficult to visualize as being part of a modern and technologically integrated warehouse, but the team mustered its stick-to-it-iveness to pursue the vision they had for the warehouse.

 

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The office wasn’t exactly furnished when the team first arrived.

 

The project caught the attention of Pocono area residents and even a local news station. Many viewed this project as part of an economic revitalization. A new warehouse in a part of the country that had seen widespread economic decline in recent decades signaled change. The prospect of new stable jobs and small business development added to an already present ripple of excitement in the area.

 

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The official ribbon cutting ceremony with the Greater Pocono Chamber of Commerce

 

Though the warehouse didn’t have a commercial tenant, it was partially occupied by an area nonprofit. Charles Cahn, the person managing the warehouse and nonprofit at the time, quickly befriended the WPRP team. He helped us form relationships and find resources in an otherwise unfamiliar area. Fortunately, we were able to arrange for his nonprofit to stay in part of the warehouse.

 

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Getting the dock ready for use

 

The transformation wasn’t easy, and at times the light at the end of the tunnel seemed faint. In the end, however, it was the positive attitude of the WPRP team, the help of friends like the Cahns and the welcoming nature of the surrounding community that helped the project succeed. We hope that it can serve as an example of what’s possible with a little teamwork, optimism and determination.

 

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The East Stroudsburg warehouse present day, fully stocked with pallet rack