Keep Supply debuts new fulfillment center in Republic

Springfield-based industrial parts and equipment distributor Keep Supply has expanded its footprint into the Republic area with the opening of a 25,000-square-foot fulfillment center. 

The company held a May 26 open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce to celebrate the 3570 E. Sawyer Road facility, which officials said opened in February. Keep Supply distributes industrial refrigeration parts and equipment for food, beverage, chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturers internationally. 

“We are super excited to be moved into this facility,” said Cody Cantwell, Keep Supply’s director of portfolio and supply chain, who oversees product and warehouse logistics for the company. “The big thing is we went from a space that was 7,800 square feet, and this gives us obviously a lot of room to grow and expand our product offerings for our customers.”  

Since 2017, the company’s prior fulfilment center was at 3107 E. Chestnut Expressway. Plans initially were to keep it, Cantwell said. However, it ultimately didn’t make sense for the company’s ongoing growth plans.  

“What we were really looking for was a place to grow,” he said, declining to disclose relocation costs or the company’s five-year lease rate with DAD Commercial LLC. “We looked at both the opportunity of either acquiring a facility or doing the rental. For us, an ultimate goal would be to be under one roof one day if that possibility arises.” 

Drake Hughes, Keep Supply president, said in a news release that the new fulfillment center isn’t just a bigger warehouse but infrastructure for the next decade.  

“The fact that we’re building it right here, in the same place we call home, gives us a great deal of pride,” he said in the release. “Springfield and the surrounding area have become an important region for the refrigeration industry, and we’re excited to continue growing alongside it.” 

Building capacity  
The new fulfillment center has more than 650,000 cubic feet of storage capacity with products such as condensers, motors, pumps and valves lining shelves. However, Cantwell said there’s plenty of room for growth in the facility, as the company expects to boost inventory levels and streamline fulfilment operations.  Although delivery trucks are available on-site, officials say the center is not currently using rail access for shipping. 

“We’re somewhere around 25% to 30% capacity right now,” he said, adding the fulfillment center currently has over 2,300 products from 100-plus vendors. “That product offering will probably expand to over 3,000 to 4,000 by the end of the year.” 

While Keep Supply has interest in adding other distribution facilities beyond the Springfield area, no expansion plans on that front are in motion, Cantwell said. Keeping its headquarters in the Queen City remains a long-term plan, he added. 

“From this location we’re able to serve around 75% of our customers within a two-day transit,” he said. “That really helps us overall in cost savings for the customer and also just transit time.”  

On the rise 
Expanded warehouse space is just one of several growth areas for Keep Supply.  

Revenue grew in 2025 to $72 million, Cantwell said, a roughly 42% year-over-year increase. The large jump came in under early estimates for the year, as Hughes told SBJ in late 2024 that the plan for 2025 was to reach $84 million in revenue.  

Cantwell said the company’s revenue goal is even loftier this year. 

“Our goal for 2026 is $110 million,” he said, noting increased business at the fulfillment center will be a key to reaching that mark.  

“We’ve averaged around 35% to 38% of our revenue coming from our warehouse over the last year,” Cantwell said. “Our goal is to be over 45% to 50% of that in the warehouse this year.” 

Aside from revenue, Keep Supply’s employee count has also rapidly increased. At the end of 2023, the company had 67 employees. Today, that number is 140, Cantwell said, adding eight employees work at the fulfillment center – a total he expects will grow into the 20s over the next few years. He estimated the company will probably hire another 15 employees by year’s end.  

The expansion to the new facility comes after the company was acquired earlier this year for undisclosed terms by Charlotte, North Carolina-based private equity firm Kanbrick LLC.  

Around the time of the acquisition announcement in February, Josh Burch, CEO of Keep Supply, told Springfield Business Journal that the three original partners are still equity holders in the company, though Kanbrick is now the majority equity holder. 

“They very much believe in where Keep’s headed, and we’re excited to bring somebody on to help us secure the future we want – the future for our team – and the fact that we can also be part of that journey,” he said in a February interview. “From our perspective, it’s the best of both worlds.” 

Keep Supply began in 2008 as Industrial Refrigeration Parts LLC and was rebranded to its current name in 2022, according to the company’s LinkedIn profile. 

Kanbrick’s acquisition announcement stated the ownership team of Burch, Hughes and Chris Langston acquired Industrial Refrigeration Parts in 2017. Keep Supply serves customers across the United States and ships to roughly 70 countries, according to officials.  

According to Keep Supply’s website, the company’s customers comprise myriad industries such as industrial and commercial refrigeration, meat processors, cold storage facilities, chemicals and pharmaceuticals and farms. Clients include Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc., Butterball LLC, Hiland Dairy Foods Co. LLC, Reddy Ice LLC and Tyson Foods Inc.  

Downtown movement 
The new fulfillment center’s opening arrives as the company moved most of its workforce last summer to 117 Park Central Square from its prior 601 N. National Ave. location.  

In a February 2025 interview with SBJ, Keep Supply CEO Josh Burch said most of the company’s teams would occupy roughly 34,000 square feet in leased and remodeled space on portions of the second and third floors of the 110,000-square-foot downtown building owned by Davis Properties.  

Cantwell said the Keep Supply staff is currently occupying the first floor, as it awaits renovations from general contractor BP Builders LLC to conclude. He expects the move to the second and third floors to take place later in June. Officials declined to disclose estimated relocation and renovation costs or its five-year lease rate with Davis Properties. 

“It’s been a long process, but it’s been good,” Cantwell said, adding heating, ventilation and air conditioning work has been a substantial part of the ongoing renovations.