Anixter’s Alsip Distribution Facility Becomes the Largest Distribution Facility in the United States to Earn LEED Recognition

Glenview, IL, May 9, 2007 – Anixter Inc., the world’s leading distributor of communication products, electrical and electronic wire & cable and a leading distributor of fasteners and other small parts (“C” Class inventory components) to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), announced that its distribution facility in Alsip, Illinois, received LEED-certification for new buildings from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) on April 24, 2007. The nearly half-a-million square feet building is Anixter’s largest distribution facility and has approximately 300 employees who pick, pack, ship and receive virtually every Anixter product available and provide value-added services to its customers as part of its supply chain operations. The distribution center is Anixter’s largest distribution center in North America, and is part of a distribution network that is comprised of 75 warehouses and encompasses over four million square feet in North America. The Alsip distribution facility was built in December 2004, and services the Midwest by covering as much as 35 percent of the U.S. population in next-day deliveries and is also a shipping point for our overseas business needs.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for New Construction and Major Renovations is a green building rating system that was designed to guide and distinguish high-performance commercial and institutional projects, including manufacturing plants, laboratories and other building types. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

“Anixter pursued USGBC’s LEED certification because we wanted to provide employees with a healthy, employee-friendly work environment in addition to being a good corporate citizen.” said Jay Zwart, Anixter Senior Vice President - Operations.

The Alsip distribution facility hosts many of Anixter’s customers that are in the process of considering Anixter as a potential supplier and supply chain services provider. When entering the facility, customers can see the high-volume of activity a distribution center of this size manages. What they may not notice is the unique lighting elements that make it unlike other distribution facilities in the country. The building features 170 skylights along with numerous side panel windows which helped it meet the LEED criteria requiring 75 percent of the occupied space must have access to natural light.

The building itself was built with steel that is 100 percent recycled content. Its ventilation system has zero air pressure so that when a door is open there is little or no exchange of air or outside pollution. The air management system, during the warm months, cools the interior at night and helps maintain the temperature during the day without the aid of air conditioning. The LEED-certified facility is not only helping save the environment but is helping save money as well. Energy costs are close to 25 percent less than what was being spent in the previous building.

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