Joe Hanna, director general manager of the Disney Distribution Center in Jonesville, says he looks over the stock every day, so he has an idea of what the center contains and where everything is.


Joe Hanna built a resume that included working for Fortune 100 companies. The money and benefits were good, but there was one catch. None of Hanna's jobs was what he was looking for. He found happiness in a huge warehouse in Jonesville.

"The Disney Company is the one I've always wanted to work for," Hanna said. "It's entertainment. When I've been to seminars with about 134 different companies in the past, we would introduce ourselves and go on to the next person. When I introduce myself and say that I work for Disney, heads turn and everybody wants to talk about my business. It's also that the company brings with it loyalty and brand recognition."

Hanna is the director general manager of the Disney Distribution Center. It is a receiving, packing and shipping center for everything Disney. Toys, electronics, clothes, housewares and furniture pass through the warehouse.

The company employs about 160 workers in the summer months but that swells by an additional 500 from September through December to fulfill holiday orders. Hanna said the seasonal additions aren't hard to find because most have worked for Disney before and will bring family and friends to work.

The holiday ramp up means full-time employees will be shifted to supervisory roles.

"When you bring that many people in, they need some supervision," Hanna said. "It gives an opportunity for employees to practice leadership skills."

"That number of additional employees will affect the labor force statistics in Union County and its surrounding areas in Woodruff and Laurens," said Stephen Gardner, labor force spokesperson for the S.C. Employment Security Commission in Columbia.

"Historically, Union County trends down beginning in September through December," said Gardner.

Union's unemployment rate was 9.0 percent as of July statistics. In 2005 Union County dropped from 10.9 percent to 10.0 percent during September through December. Last year it dropped from 10.3 percent to 9.9 percent, according to SCESC.

The newest addition to the Jonesville location is the call center that had been outsourced to Overland Park, Kan. "It's an opportunity to have the entire operation under the same roof," Hanna said. And it adds an additional 60 employees from one of the most depressed job markets in the state.

Union County, with a population of 29,000, tied for 11th in the July statistics, with 12,500 people working. "We don't know if there will be any layoffs during this time (fourth quarter), and some people may elect to go right to work instead of filing for unemployment," Gardner said. "Some people of that 500, maybe about 100, will take a second job to earn some extra money during this time."

Hanna said having the call center on location means the search for a product can be immediate.

"We will jump through hoops to make our guests happy," Hanna said. "I look at the stocks every day, and it is a reminder that we can't become stagnant."

As orders are wrapped in Disney tissue and paper, boxed and shipped. Hanna said the company added UPS earlier this summer as its main shipper. "We can already tell the difference because of fewer complaints we're getting, and the delivery time has improved."

Employees are known as "cast members" and customers as "guests." "It's all about being part of our vocabulary," Hanna said. "We consider them as extended family, and we spend a lot of time together."

Hanna said buyers order a certain amount of merchandise, and it's shipped shipped to the facility. "If they project a big amount of the items they will sell is hot, they will buy a lot, and we will have a lot of that merchandise. If, for some reason, it doesn't sell, then it becomes storage or we move it into our outlet store."

But Hanna said he recognizes a hit product by instinct. "I would probably buy that. And you know, I probably will!"

Hanna said most of the pressure he feels is getting the order out on time. "I'm not saying the castmates' job is all easy. But it is demanding. I believe you can still break a sweat and have fun."

Hanna knows all about breaking a sweat. He began working in the cotton fields at the age of 6.

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Posted: 09/10/2007  Popularity: 187