Union City Mayor Ralph Moore cracked a smiled Tuesday night as he announced that Newell Rubbermaid will be locating an 800,000 square-foot distribution center inside the city. The move to Union City will add 300 jobs to the growing area.

"This new distribution center further supports our global objective to achieve operational excellence and best total cost across our strong portfolio of brands," said Newell Rubbermaid President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Ketchum. "We are continuing to make solid progress in eliminating redundancies and reducing our operational footprint, while increasing efficiency and delivering improved customer service."

Newell Rubbermaid Jan. 14 announced it is continuing to reduce costs and improve efficiency in its global distribution network with the planned opening of a fifth new multi-branded distribution facility. The 800,000 square-foot distribution center in metro Atlanta, which will have 300 employees in two shifts, is part of Newell Rubbermaid's ongoing strategy to convert many single-brand distribution centers to select multi-brand distribution centers that are located more centrally.

"The location of our new distribution center in metro Atlanta is yet another demonstration of our commitment to putting down deeper roots in the community, and we are excited to be adding significant new jobs in our home state of Georgia," Ketchum said.

The company moved its headquarters to metro Atlanta in 2003 and will move into new headquarters facilties in Sandy Springs in August.

The new facility continues Newell Rubbermaid's progress in rationalizing its global distribution network, while reducing transportation costs and improving shipping efficiency. The company's global distribution facility footprint has been reduced from 96 facilities to fewer than 80, with a goal of decreasing to approximately 50 over the next two years. This global initiative is expected to yield significant increases in the utilization rates for each facility while driving anticipated cost savings of $30 million and improved customer service.