About 100 people gathered Wednesday morning for the official grand opening of Big Rock Sport’s East Coast Distribution Center.

The distribution center has been operational in Richmond County since the summer and now employs about 150 people.

“This was just a concrete slab in November,” said Ed Small, president and chief executive officer of Big Rock. “This team has done an unbelievable job.”

Wayne Decker, senior vice president of operations of the distribution center said it’s been a labor of love.

“This was a big project,” Decker said. “People have referred to it as my baby, but I’m glad I didn’t have to deliver it. Today is the start of a new era for Big Rock, its vendors and its customers. This is a significant investment we’ve made in our customers, vendors and partners.”

Decker said the company looked at three different states and 18 different counties before deciding on Richmond County.

“Everyone should be proud of what we’ve accomplished,” he said. “People ask how we ended up here and if we’ve had a hard time finding employees, but we’ve found some great people here. The people in this community are the kind of people our company represents. This has been a fantastic opportunity.”

County Manager Rick Sago said Big Rock’s distribution center represents what he thought Richmond County was perfect for all along.

“We’re the perfect place for distribution,” he said. “We’re thrilled with Big Rock and what they’ve done for us.”

Small said part of what made Richmond County so attractive to the company was that there was no red tape or bureaucracy.

“This is definitely a new era in the history of Big Rock Sports and the start of a lot more to come,” Small said. “Our philosophy is a lot more than bringing in big boxes through the back door and shipping small boxes out the front.

“We had plenty of naysayers that said we were taking a leap of faith in making this kind of investment during this economy but for us it was the right thing to do. It was a very simple decision. It was a vote of confidence in our vendors and our partners. This industry is thriving when others are not, and it will continue to go on for a long time.

“My goal in operating this facility is to improve upon the service we provide our customers.”

Following the ribbon cutting ceremony, the crowd, comprised of vendors and partners from all over the country, took a tour of the distribution center.