HAZLETON, PA (May 19, 2008) - Amazon.com Inc. announced today that it has chosen Humboldt Industrial Park in Hazle Township as the site for its newest fulfillment center and will eventually employ 1,100 people full-time. The company is expected to begin operations here sometime in July.

The Seattle online retailer said the 600,000-square-foot facility will also employ 800 part-time workers during peak seasons. The center will be operated by Amazon.com DEDC LLC.

“We are very pleased that Amazon announced today that they have chosen Humboldt Industrial Park as the site for their newest distribution center in the Northeast,” said Kevin O’Donnell, president of CAN DO, Inc., Greater Hazleton’s economic development agency. “This project is evidence that more and more global companies are finding Greater Hazleton’s location and workforce ideal for industry and logistics. In the past three years alone we have been able to attract giants like Amazon, Coca-Cola, Archer Daniels Midland and AutoZone.”

“This project is also a testament to the successful relationship we have with commercial developers like Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services which built and marketed the building that Amazon will occupy. Mericle has been instrumental in several projects in our Humboldt Parks including this one and the Simmons Mattress Company,” O’Donnell said. “Mericle is just completing yet another speculative building in the new Humboldt North Park. We will be anxiously awaiting to see what company they will bring to our park next.”

Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell touted the benefits of the Amazon project. "Not only will this project result in well over a thousand new jobs for hard-working Pennsylvanians, but those jobs will provide ancillary benefits for the entire region," he said in a statement.

O’Donnell praised the Governor’s Action Team for its role in bringing Amazon to Hazleton. “Governor Rendell and his team are constantly working to bring leads to our area and the financial incentives they put together make it possible for our agency to continue to attract new companies to our parks,” he said. “The local governmental agencies Hazle Township and the school district also work hard to help us attract new industries and deserve credit as well.”

O’Donnell also commended the CAN DO Marketing Department for its role in the Amazon project.

The center will serve Amazon's customers in the Northeast and will be the fifth center in Pennsylvania, Amazon officials said. (NASDAQ: AMZN)