The New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA), the nation's largest state-level employer association, recently presented its New Good Neighbor Award to Tiffany & Company for its new prototype Customer Fulfillment Center on Parsippany Road in Hanover Township.

NJBIA President Philip Kirschner presented the award to John Petterson, Tiffany's senior vice president for operations, at the 44th Annual New Good Neighbor Awards luncheon, held June 8 at the Sheraton at Woodbridge Place in Iselin.

After a two-year search, the internationally renowned Tiffany & Co. jewelers selected Hanover Township for its $70-million customer fulfillment center, a prototype facility that will process Internet and telephone orders.

"The size of this project and the prestige of the company behind it make this a first-rate development in Hanover Township," NJBIA President Philip Kirschner said. "The Customer Fulfillment Center will be a tremendous economic boost for Morris County. We are proud to present our New Good Neighbor Award to The Tiffany & Company Customer Fulfillment Center."

The facility will take up 283,000 square feet on a 38-acre site that was a former paperboard landfill. The facility includes an office and warehouse-and-distribution center that will use a state-of-the-art material handling system. The system uses more than two miles of conveyor belts to send orders to either a specialty workshop for engraving, embossing, etching or polishing, or directly to one of the 168 packing stations where the employees hand-pack each order in Tiffany's signature blue box.

Construction required 170 workers, and the center will employ 500. The Hillier Group of New York City designed the project and construction was undertaken as a joint venture between Jeffrey M. Brown Associates, Inc. of Pennsylvania and SJP Properties of Parsippany.

"To Tiffany & Co., SJP Properties and Jeffrey M. Brown Associates, we in Hanover Township and New Jersey, say 'thank you' for being Good Neighbors," said Hannover Mayor Ronald F. Fancioli, who nominated the project.

The New Good Neighbor Awards are presented annually to new developments or renovations that exhibit architectural excellence, create jobs, and enhance the community. An independent panel of judges selected the winners. In 2004, NJBIA received 31 New Good Neighbor Award nominations representing nearly $600 million worth of construction and creating 5,600 jobs.

NJBIA represents more than 22,000 member companies throughout New Jersey.