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Con-way Freight Opens New Service Center in Rockford, Ill., Industrial Park


WEBWIRE

Large, Company-owned Facility Offers Quick Access to Interstate System for Faster and More Efficient Service to Customers

ANN ARBOR, Mich., and ROCKFORD, Ill. -Con-way Freight, a less-than-truckload carrier and subsidiary of Con-way Inc. (NYSE: CNW), today announced that it has opened a new service center in Rockford offering next-day delivery throughout Illinois and within a surrounding 600-mile radius. The facility is the first to move into the Rock 39 Industrial Park strategically located in Rockford’s I-39 Logistics Corridor approximately one hour west of Chicago. The new service center more than doubles the size of Con-way Freight’s previous operation at 401 Harrison Avenue. The company broke ground on the facility in November 2007.

“From the new Rockford service center, our trucks can drive just half a mile and connect with I-39, I-90/94, I-88 and I-80 — interstates heading in every direction,” said M. Gregory Lehmkuhl, executive vice president of operations for Con-way Freight. “That kind of quick access is absolutely vital to our mission of providing the best LTL performance, including fast transit times, on-time service and exception-free delivery.”

The new Con-way Freight service center employs more than 100 area residents, 83 of them driver sales representatives. It features nearly 50,000 square feet of dock space and 110 dock doors for loading and unloading trailers — expanded from 42 dock doors at the previous facility. Staff there will process approximately 1,000,000 pounds of freight and 900 shipments per day, servicing roughly 700 business accounts in the area.

The Rockford facility opening takes place as part of Con-way Freight’s major network re-engineering project aimed at creating a more efficient operation to improve service and reduce costs. While some of the company’s service centers in the area were closed as part of the initiative, newly-opened facilities in Rockford and LaSalle have gained freight service and employees displaced from the closing locations. The Rockford service center alone added about 85 percent of the business and more than 30 employees from the closure of the Janesville, Wis., location, with additional freight and personnel relocating from the closed Rock Falls facility.

“Con-way is the first project in the Rock 39 Industrial Park, and we appreciate them expanding their freight transportation company within Winnebago County,” said Scott Christiansen, chairman, Winnebago County Board. “We are looking forward to continued growth in this part of the county and to the long-term economic benefits this expansion will generate"

Under Con-way Freight’s network re-engineering initiative, the company will reduce the total miles traveled per day by 124,000, or 5.2 percent of the 2.4 million miles its drivers typically run each day. That decrease in mileage will conserve 4.9 million gallons of diesel fuel per year for an annual cost savings of roughly $14 million.



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