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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Look for a lot more activity taking place soon at the new Amazon fulfillment center in Sioux Falls. The company announced today that it will start initial operations in a few weeks, with the intent of being up and running next year.

Amazon’s announcement to ramp-up operations at its Sioux Falls fulfillment center provides more clarity to a project that had been facing questions earlier this year.

“I think that the news that we got six or eight months ago that they were kind of on-hold was a little bit disappointing, but now I think we’re off and running again, so we’re excited to hear that,” Sioux Falls Development Foundation President & CEO Bob Mundt said.

Bob Mundt says he never doubted the future of the Sioux Falls building even though Amazon has announced delays and closings at other facilities across the nation.

“They made it very clear from the beginning that this is a very unique operation here in Sioux Falls and we’re not like the rest of the ones around the country necessarily, so we had some very good confidence that they were going to come through,” Mundt said.

Mundt says the Sioux Falls fulfillment center will specialize in smaller items. Don’t look for refrigerators or washer-driers being warehoused here.

“Imagine anything smaller than a toaster. That’s kind of how their operation works. They have different distribution facilities like this to handle different size products and some look like this and are able to go high and have smaller products, higher stacked,” Mundt said.

Mundt says that the Development Foundation will keep working closely with Amazon to make sure it has the resources it needs ahead of its launch.

“Part of our responsibility is working with them to continue to bring people to the region to fill those jobs and that type of thing to make sure that we monitor what they’re doing out there. They’re only part of the park. We have a lot of other tenants in the park as well, so we need to make sure that traffic flow stays good and we continue to get services out there that we need,” Mundt said.

The next step for construction crews at the site will be installing a conveyor system that had been delayed by a supply chain backlog. City officials say the conveyors will span five miles inside the massive building.

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