Con-Way Southern Express Builds New Service Center in New Orleans
7 June 2000
Con-Way Southern Express Builds New Service Center in New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS - Con-Way Southern Express is making an expanded business and service commitment to greater New Orleans businesses with the construction of a company owned service center in St. Charles Parish. The company, a regional less-than-truckload commercial freight carrier based in Fort Worth, TX, currently leases a facility at 4801 Almonaster Avenue in New Orleans.
A groundbreaking ceremony will be held on Thursday, June 8 at 10 am at 10397 Airline Highway in St. Rose, Louisiana, close to Highway 310. The Hon. Albert Laque, Corey Faucheux, Clayton Faucheux and April Black of St. Charles Parish, and State Representative Gary Smith will attend the ceremony along with CSE company officials.
"The New Orleans market is growing and we want to be part of that growth by being closer to our customers," said John T. Hickerson, president and chief executive officer of CSE. "The timing is perfect for us to build a state-of-the-art facility that will better serve our growing Louisiana customer base."
CSE will immediately develop half of the 15 acres it purchased with construction completion scheduled for November. Company officials declined to put a dollar figure on the investment. Construction will include a 14,000 square foot docking terminal, a 2,500 square foot fueling and maintenance area and 4,600 square feet of office space. CON-WAY officials project that the new 40-door facility, which is expandable to 100 doors, will provide enough capacity to move one million pounds of freight per day. The facility will be closer to the majority of the company's customers, allowing CSE to receive customer freight earlier and deliver it sooner. "CON-WAY's on-time delivery performance is at 98 percent and we always strive to improve upon that. This new location will make us even more efficient," Hickerson said.
The current service center's 50 employees will be moving to the new location. Current facility manager Ray Babin will manage the new facility. Babin began his career with CSE in 1994 as a freight operations supervisor in New Orleans. A quick succession of promotions in 1995 and 1996 led him to his current position in late 1996.
Customers served from the facility will receive next day delivery service to all of Louisiana, Mississippi, and parts of Arkansas, Texas, Tennessee and Alabama. Customers will receive second day service in most of the Midwest, Southeast and Middle Atlantic states.
Con-Way Southern Express is an operating company of Con-Way Transportation Services, a $1.9 billion transportation company that provides time-definite and day-definite freight delivery and logistics services for commercial and industrial businesses. Within the Con-Way family are regional less-than-truckload carriers Con-Way Central Express, Con-Way Southern Express and Con-Way Western Express; Con-Way Truckload Services, providing multi-modal, full truckload shipping; Con-Way NOW, an expedited carrier specializing in emergency shipment service; and Con-Way Integrated Services, a contract supply chain execution service provider.
CON-WAY is a subsidiary of Palo Alto, California-based CNF , a $5.6 billion management company of global supply chain services with businesses in regional trucking, air freight, ocean freight, customs brokerage, global logistics management and trailer manufacturing.