A Ringgold, Ga., freight operation has navigated its way out of the Great Recession, adding employees and finishing a key expansion.
Old Dominion Freight Line’s service center in Catoosa County has grown its loading dock by 40 percent to meet increasing demand for its less-than-truckload business, said manager Dennis Potts.
The 62-door center, which also revamped its administrative space, now employs 92 people, including drivers, he said. That’s up from a workforce that fell to the low 70s in 2008 amid the recession, Potts said.
“We’re real tickled at the expansion,” he said.
Old Dominion wouldn’t break out the expansion cost. But company spokesman Todd DeFeo said it’s part of $132 million that the business is spending on new and expanded facilities this year.
Business is growing companywide and locally, Potts said, forecasting that the Ringgold facility could reach about 100 employees by this summer.
Shipments are expected to grow about 11.5 percent next year, with revenues about 15 percent higher, Potts said.
Martha Eaker, who heads the Catoosa County Chamber of Commerce, said that having a piece of Interstate 75 and its proximity to other major highways creates a good location for freight and logistics businesses.
“It’s perfect for this type of business,” she said, adding the company’s expansion is “a good sign” for the county.
LTL carriers typically pick up multiple shipments from customers on a single truck and then route that freight for delivery through its service centers. From there, freight may be transferred to other trucks with similar destinations.
The Ringgold facility at 253 Gateway Drive serves East Tennessee, including Chattanooga, Cleveland, and Athens, along with North Georgia, such as Dalton, Rome and Calhoun, and parts of Northeast Alabama.
Potts said while there’s a national shortage of qualified truckdrivers, the Ringgold center is able to adquately fill its vehicles.
“We’ve got a good company and word gets around in the trucking industry,” he said.
Old Dominion opened a service center in the Chattanooga area three decades ago. The company employs sales representatives, dock workers, mechanics and administrative employees as well as drivers.
The fifth largest LTL motor carrier in the United States as measured by 2012 revenue, Old Dominion’s Ringgold site is one of 221 service center locations it operates nationally.
Old Dominion has major centers in Atlanta, Memphis and Morristown, Tenn., and seven other locations.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.