Con-Way Southern Express announces $9 million Charlotte, N.C. service center expansion.

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 7, 1994--Regional trucking company Con-Way Southern Express (CSE) Monday announced it will expand freight operations in Charlotte with a new $9 million service center that will more than double local capacity for handling commercial and industrial freight shipments.

The new center will be built on a 25-acre site recently purchased on Old Statesville Road (State Highway 115) adjacent to the Metrolina Expo. It is being designed as a state-of-the-art facility operating both as the local service center for Charlotte customers, and as a night-time regional freight assembly center processing shipments moving throughout CSE's next-day and second-day network covering eight Southern states, according to CSE President Thomas C. Smith.

"Our volumes have outstripped the capacity of our current location," noted Smith, who added that this was CSE's third service center expansion in Charlotte since opening in April 1987. "This new facility will enable us to manage current business levels more efficiently while providing substantial flexibility for expansion and future growth."

The new facility will be the largest service center in CSE's regional trucking network, which specializes in less-than-truckload (LTL) commercial freight transportation. It will have 164 loading doors, a 72,000 square foot dock for freight handling operations, a 10,000 square foot sales and administrative office, and 20 acres of paved parking for staging and processing of trailers and trucks.

"The response to CSE's service by the Charlotte business community has been very gratifying," Smith said. "We are making these investments to ensure that we continue delivering the absolute service which has set CSE apart in our market and is providing a valuable competitive advantage to our customers."

Construction is scheduled to begin during the first quarter of 1995 with completion by the end of the year. The project is expected to create in excess of 100 construction jobs as various building trades are employed over the project's duration.

Plans also call for a separate 22,000 square foot truck and trailer maintenance shop, built adjacent to the service center. The shop will feature modern truck diagnostic systems with 20 service bays for safety inspections, preventive maintenance and repairs, as well as office and parts inventory space, drive-through wash rack, steam cleaning, paint booth and fueling systems with advanced environmental safeguards and controls.

CSE's current Charlotte freight service center is an 80-door facility that employs 150 people, generates an annual payroll of nearly $5 million, and operates a fleet of 300 trucks, tractors and trailers. It services the greater Charlotte metropolitan area and communities extending north to Statesville, N.C., south to Rock Hill, S.C., east to Albemarle, N.C., and west to Belmont, N.C.

The company opened in Charlotte in April 1987 with a 50-door facility at 7001 Statesville Road. Operations expanded to the current 80-door service center at 5200 Spector Drive in 1991.

Con-Way Southern Express is a regional trucking firm providing next-day and second-day freight deliveries with a network of 60 service centers in eight southern states. It is a subsidiary of Con-Way Transportation Services, a $1 billion company which also owns regional LTL motor carriers Con-Way Western Express, Con-Way Central Express and Con-Way Southwest Express, and Con-Way Intermodal, which provides nationwide multi-modal truckload services and international cargo shipping.

CONTACT: Con-Way Corporate Communications 

Gary Frantz, 415/854-7500