Earlier this year Lathrop Mayor Sonny Dhaliwal was ecstatic about learning that two large tenants were planning on moving into new facilities being built in Lathrop.
And on Tuesday the name of one of those two tenants became public.
Ashley Furniture – the largest manufacturer of furniture in the world – will be moving into a new warehouse building being constructed behind the city’s existing light-industrial park that already includes names such as Del Monte, Food 4 Less, JC Penney and Tesla.
And while distribution is part of the plans, the site will also be a retail location – the second that the company has opened in San Joaquin County.
In addition to the Ashley HomeStore in Stockton, the corporation – which operates more than 500 stories across the globe – has retail locations in Concord, Milpitas and Fairfield.
True to Dhaliwal’s word during the campaign for his third term as mayor back in November, the new location also means new jobs.
On Friday, April 21, the company will be hosting a job fair to hire for the new location at the Hampton Inn located at 103 E. Louise Avenue. From 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and positions in both the warehouse and retail side are being advertised – including, but not limited to, warehouse superintendent, warehouse supervisor, delivery manager, deliver driver, delivery helper, service technician, warehouse office, warehouse associate and housekeeping.
“This will be a tremendous sales tax generator for the City of Lathrop and we’re very happy that they’re now a part of our community,” said Dhaliwal – who was waiting to announce the company’s arrival until it was cleared, but found out on Tuesday that the company was advertising for positions in Lathrop. “It will be a valuable asset to our community, and it will bring jobs to our community.”
With the opening of a Kraft Heinz distribution center in the old Pilkington manufacturing plant on the horizon, and UPS just recently opening a massive new distribution center on Harlan Road, Lathrop has been a driving force in helping South San Joaquin County become one of the fastest growing regions in the State of California.
On top of massive housing growth that is expected to take place over the course of the next two decades – which will more than double the number of homes already built in Lathrop, and more than double the number of students with Manteca Unified School District – the construction of large light-industrial warehouses has become the bread-and-butter for the community that enjoys quick access to California’s two main arterial highways as well as access to the exploding San Francisco Bay Area.
Dhaliwal said that an announcement about the other major tenant will come when the business authorizes that information to be made available to the public.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.