Con-way Freight, a less-than-truckload (LTL) trucking company and subsidiary of Con-way Inc., announced a major expansion for central Texas and surrounding communities with plans to build a new, state-of-the-art, 48-door, 18,870-square-foot freight service center in the city of Robinson.
The new $3.7 million facility will serve as the local hub from which the company will provide daily freight pickup and delivery services, connecting central Texas and the Greater Waco metropolitan area with one-, two- and three-day service points in Con-way Freight's nationwide network, as well as Mexico and Canada.
The company has selected a 12-acre property in the Robinson Industrial Park for the new facility. According to Con-way Freight's director of operations, Steve Micketti, the site is well-suited for the company's needs. A major factor for its selection was the convenient access to the Sun Valley exit off Interstate 35.
The new 48-door, 18,870-square-foot freight facility in Robinson will replace an existing 22-door service center at 7300 Bagby Avenue in neighboring Waco, where the company has been for more than 20 years. Once completed, the expanded facility is expected to provide additional capacity, operating efficiencies and flexibility. The company expects to hire an additional 15 workers in jobs such as driver sales representatives, operations support, sales, customer service and administration. Con-way Freight currently employs 52 at its existing Waco location.
"The central Texas market and its surrounding communities have experienced significant business growth over the past several years," said Greg Lehmkuhl, president of Con-way Freight. "This new facility will allow us to better manage current business levels, and positions us with capacity to grow and deliver to our customers the velocity, dependability and consistent on-time service that provides competitive advantage."
"We've had excellent support from the city of Robinson and the Waco business community," Lehmkuhl continued, "and with our development partners, we're excited to launch this important expansion for the community, and for our national network."
"We are extremely pleased that Con-way Freight has selected Robinson for this expanded freight operations center," said Bryan Ferguson, mayor of the city of Robinson. "The additional jobs, as well as the important transportation and logistics support services that accompany the Con-way facility, are important for the increased vitality of our local, regional, and state economies. We're proud to welcome them as a neighbor."
Scheduled to open in April 2014, the project represents extensive collaboration between Con-way Freight and the developer, SCRG, Ltd., the Gummelt family, broker Jon Spelman, Pearson Construction and the city of Robinson. The team of Bill Thomas Designs, J&S Structural, Bob Curry Engineering and The Wallace Group leads the architectural, engineering and construction planning efforts for the new facility, for which Con-way Freight has signed a long-term lease.
Today, Con-way Freight operates a fleet of 24 commercial truck-tractors and 80 freight trailers from its current facility in Waco, and expects to expand its local fleet once the new facility is open. Con-way Freight in Waco /central Texas currently serves more than 800 businesses in the greater metropolitan area and surrounding communities. Nationwide, the company operates a fleet of 9,600 truck-tractors and 25,000 freight trailers.
Con-way Freight provides some of the fastest service over the longest market lanes of any trucking company in the state. From central Texas, next-day delivery is provided for most of Louisiana, north to the Kansas border, west to Midland, Texas, south to the Mexico border, and east to the Alabama border.
A grand opening ceremony is scheduled for April 2014 when the public and local officials can visit the service center and tour the 3,600 square feet of office space and 48-door, 15,270-square-foot dock.
