CHEP, an Orlando, Fla.-based supplier of shipping pallets, has opened a 21,000-square-foot pallet service center at Bridgeway Commerce Center III on Harbour View Boulevard.

The facility, which opened Aug. 1, will employ between 30 and 40 people to sort and repair pallets, CHEP spokesman Ronald Margulis said. It represents a "seven-figure" investment, he said, declining to be more specific. Much of that cost is for equipment to inspect and paint the company's pallets.

The company signed a five-year lease for the space with Liberty Property Trust, based in suburban Philadelphia.

CHEP's customers include such companies as Procter & Gamble and Tyson Foods.