ON THE MOVE: The Reject Shop's national general manager for logistics Philip Beckett, distribution centre manager George Forrester and managing director Chris Bryce. Photo: Sarah Harvey JN2210HM

ZANE JACKSON zane.jackson@qt.com.au

REJECT might be in the name but there was nothing faulty with the state-of-the-art equipment at a new $16 million warehouse in Ipswich.

The Reject Shop's massive new distribution centre at the Citiswich Business Park near Dinmore was opened by Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale on Tuesday. With the ability to shoot out 6000 cartons an hour, the monster 26,600sq m building will supply stock for 90 stores in Queensland and New SouthWales.

The Reject Shop's managing director Chris Bryce said the centre would soon grow to service 200 stores, which would see the warehouse's current workforce of 60 staff more than double. "Ipswich was a logical location for our new distribution centre because of its strong labour market and strategic location on road networks, providing us the opportunity to service stores from metropolitan Sydney through to Queensland," he said.

"We expect the number of people employed at our Ipswich distribution centre to grow to up to 150 as the number of stores serviced grows from an initial 90 stores to our 200-store capacity over the coming years."

The $16 million distribution centre was built on time and on budget having commenced construction in March 2009.

The Reject Shop's chief financial officer Darren Briggs said when in full production, it would process $200 million worth of a stock a year. Founded in 1981 as a single-store retail operation in Victoria, The Reject Shop now operates 196 stores across Australia, including one at Orion Springfield.

Cr Pisasale, who flew down to Melbourne to sell the Citiswich location to The Reject Shop executives in 2007, said securing the distribution centre was a massive coup for Ipswich.

"They were looking at a few locations but I convinced them to come here," Cr Pisasale said. "It's a situation where the city picks up a great business that is creating local jobs, while at the same time

The Reject Shop now has a distribution centre in a prime location. "Developments like this that create jobs for Ipswich will always be welcome." The two-storey building is a high-tech complex which includes computerised conveyor and sorting equipment.