New Braunfels Walmart Distribution Facility Chosen for Robotics Upgrade

A Walmart distribution center entrenched in the Texas Hill Country since 1988 will soon undergo changes, big changes. The remodel is expected to last over a year and will cost $21 million. The key phrase in a public filing is that the company is “installing new material handling equipment.” That means robots. Walmart plans to add automation from Symbotic— a warehouse technology company that Walmart took a minority stake in last year — to all of its 42 regional distribution centers, including New Braunfels. For Walmart, the country’s largest employer, the automation push means rendering obsolete some of its 1.6 million roles.

Walmart’s automation is a piece of a broader plan to drive profits higher. In three years, Walmart anticipates that about two-thirds of its stores will be serviced by some kind of automation, about 55% of fulfillment center volume will move through automated facilities and that unit cost averages could improve by about 20%.