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PLCB leaders led a tour of the just-completed work at the facility to chill 62,000 square feet of the 250,000-square-foot distribution center. They said the project will ensure the integrity of the wine that is moved in and out of the refrigerated portion of the facility -- more than 100,000 cases a year.

"One of the PLCB's goals is to protect our products from the time they arrive in our system until our customers purchase them," said Jonathan Newman, Chairman of the PLCB. "Now, with the completion of this project, we can provide temperature control from start-to-end -- in the distribution center, in delivery trucks as the wine is shipped to the stores, and in temperature-controlled wine rooms we are introducing to many of our Premium Collection Stores in the Pittsburgh area and across the state."

Newman was joined at today's news conference by PJ Stapleton, Indiana County attorney and member of the PLCB, and Herb Shear, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GENCO, operator of the distribution center in Papercraft Park just off Route 28.

The new refrigeration section can store more than 25,000 cases of wine at any given time. Each year more than 3.3 million cases of wine and spirits are shipped into the distribution center and out to the PLCB's 246 Wine and Spirits stores in 29 counties in western Pennsylvania.

Newman said that the Southwestern Distribution Center is the first of the PLCB's three large regional distribution centers in which temperature-control projects have been completed. The PLCB also is installing temperature-controlled sections in its distribution centers in Philadelphia and Scranton.

Founded in 1898, Pittsburgh-based GENCO is a leader in supply chain solutions, serving retail and manufacturing industries with distribution, returns and transportation management. The company operates more than 80 facilities nationwide, and has been providing distribution services for the PLCB since 1975.

The PLCB's commitment to temperature-controlled wine storage is one of its recent initiatives aimed at making Pennsylvania a wine-friendly state. The initiatives include:

• The opening of six outlet stores to meet the competition on Pennsylvania's borders, including one in the Washington Mall on Oak Spring Road and one in Hermitage, Mercer County;
• The opening of the PLCB's first One Stop Shop within a supermarket, a step advocated by Gov. Ed Rendell during his 2002 campaign. The first One Stop Shops in the Pittsburgh area will open this summer in the Shop 'n Save in South Fayette Township and the Giant Eagle in Ohio Township;
• The introduction of Sunday hours, which began on February 9, 2003;
• A comprehensive effort to expand the selection of products available in the PLCB's stores, and to deliver products at competitive prices;
• The launching of the PLCB's on-line e-commerce site and a monthly wine club at www.pawineandspirits.com, where customers can order their selections for delivery to the store of their choice for their own use or as gifts;
• Expanded training of employees, especially in the area of wine;
• The introduction of the PLCB's first advertising efforts; and,
• he success of the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh Wine Festivals, first introduced in Philadelphia in 2002 and expanded to Pittsburgh in 2003. This year, PA Wine Week '04 will feature the Philadelphia Wine Festival on May 4, the Inaugural Central Pennsylvania Wine Festival in Harrisburg on May 5 and the Second Annual Pittsburgh Wine Festival on May 6.

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"All of these steps are part of the PLCB's effort, and eagerness, to listen to our customers and to provide them with the widest possible selection of products at competitive prices in a pleasant shopping environment," said Jonathan Newman, Chairman of the PLCB.