By RUSS OLIVO

WOONSOCKET — The Jelly Belly middlemen have come to Woonsocket.
KKM, a consumer products brokerage agency, has moved from Lincoln to a new building in the Highland Corporate Park, city officials announced Tuesday.

The 16,800-square foot building at 117 Century Drive will serve as headquarters for KKM’s 38 workers and allow the company to grow, said Jeffrey Polucha, the city’s economic development director.
“It’s great news,” said Polucha. “We’re just very fortunate in this economy to have companies still investing in the city of Woonsocket.”
KKM is not a manufacturing company, but it works hand-in-hand with manufacturers from around the globe to get their products on the shelves of retail stores in six New England states and upstate New York.
They represent myriad household brands in health care products, confections and general merchandise, including Nestle’s, Ghirardelli, Jergens, Duraflame, the Jelly Belly Candy Co., and many others.
The company was founded in 1977 and had been doing business in the I-295 Airport Industrial Park in Lincoln, said Polucha. There was an open house at the new facility last Thursday to mark the completion of the transition, which had been planned for about two years, he said.
“I welcome KKM to the city and thank them for their confidence in selecting Woonsocket as their home,” Mayor Susan D. Menard said in a statement. “They are a great addition to the community, providing quality jobs in a beautiful new building.”
KKM President John Malmborg could not be reached for comment. But he said in a press release that the new facility will “allow KKM to continue to expand its operations in support of its retail customers.”
KKM purchased one of the last city-owned parcels of real estate available in the Highland Corporate Park, so there is very little land left their for economic development and job growth, according to Polucha. A North Smithfield company purchased another of the available parcels and is expected to relocate to the industrial park later this year, said Polucha, but he declined to provide any details.
Private developers hold some vacant land available for economic development in the industrial park, but not very much, said Polucha. The industrial park, located off Route 122 near the Cumberland line, is home to the headquarters of CVS, the city’s largest employer as well as the nation’s largest drugstore chain. Many of the products that KKM distributes for manufacturers end up on the shelves of CVS stores, according to Polucha.