In the late 1960s, Mid-Continent became the Duluth Seaway Port Authority's first tenant, leasing three acres on the waterfront.

Jeanne Landwehr — general manager, Mid-Continent Warehouse

Then, as now, the primary function of the warehouse was to serve as storage for general cargo foodstuffs.

Mid-Continent's founder was businessman Marshal Chabot, a lifelong Duluth resident. He built, owned and operated the warehouse. Mr. Chabot died in 1991.

In that same year, Jeno Paulucci's Luigino's, Inc., acquired Mid-Continent, and since then the business has expanded to a leased site just a few miles away. The original warehouse at the Port Terminal consists of 60,000 square feet, 20,000 of it devoted to freezer storage. The new leased space (in a building originally constructed for the manufacture of Bombardier snowmobiles) consists of an additional 50,000 square feet.

Jeanne Land-wehr, general manager, explains that the space is used primarily, but not exclusively, for foodstuffs. Mr. Paulucci's Michaelina's and Budget Gourmet frozen foods lines use Mid-Continent for the storage of a variety of food-grade product, including pastas, margarine, tomato products, meats and vegetables.

But foods account for only about half of what Mid-Continent handles. Also stored inside the clean, dry, well-ordered space are packaging materials, paper-making felts and, well, just about anything that a local business doesn't have room for at its own site.

Making Mid-Continent especially attractive to its customers, Ms. Landwehr says, is the railroad track that runs right to one of the main warehouse's doors.

"We provide all loading and unloading services, and picking — moving less than a pallet full of product at the same time," says Ms. Landwehr. "And we offer very competitive pricing."

Mid-Continent goes about its efficient operations with a well-trained, motivated workforce using conventional freight-moving equipment and in-house locator systems. And it works.

A warehouse operation, Ms. Land-wehr says, can grade its performance on customer satisfaction. If the customer calls in for a shipment of five containers of widgets and the warehouse delivers five containers of widgets — not four, not six — and they all arrive in mint condition, the warehouse has done its job. "We have happy customers," she says.

"Our people and our service are the keys to this business," she says. "We have a very experienced crew here, with very low turnover. Our priority is our service to our customers."

Mid-Continent's immediate goal is to expand its base of customers. "We have both dry and frozen space available," says Ms. Landwehr. "We can solve just about anyone's storage problems."

Contact:

Jeanne Landwehr
(218) 722-1427
Fax (218) 722-0246
jlandwehr@michelinas.com