Werner Enterprises Opens in Columbia County: New Lake City Terminal Goes On-Line
Posted February 26, 2021 06:45 am
Lake City Terminal photo: Werner; graphic:
the Observer
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN), one of America’s premier transportation and logistics providers, announces the opening of its Lake City terminal.
The 91,000 square-foot building sits on 36 developed acres. It includes the latest driver amenities to enhance its professional drivers' work-life, including a driver's lounge, laundry and vending machines, showers, a company store, fitness room, driver storage, and a dog run area. The terminal location will host driver safety courses and Werner’s Career Track program for professional drivers new to Werner. The terminal will also have 450 trailer parking stalls and 225 tractor parking stalls. The facility will add nearly 70 jobs to the Lake City area, including office and maintenance associates.
The Lake City terminal is part of Werner's commitment to investing in its 5Ts + S strategy, including trucks, trailers, talent, terminals, and technology, with a focus on driving sustainability as a core component of its efforts.
Werner has long understood the value of state-of-the-art terminal facilities in keeping drivers safe on the road while providing a comfortable place to stop.
The importance of terminal locations was amplified as the challenges of COVID-19 resonated throughout the country. Terminals became not only a place for truck and trailer maintenance but also served as a distribution hub to get PPE, hand sanitizer, and other essentials to drivers.
Vice-Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Derek Leathers said, “This new terminal will be a great addition to a state where so many of our professional drivers reside. It was important to include significant investments in our terminals as part of our 5Ts + S strategy, and our professional drivers need to have all the resources we can provide them to safely, efficiently and comfortably keep America moving.”
The Building Site
In 2013 Bell Road was a mud road. Florida DOT
contributed to the paving.
Werner owns the land and constructed the site and the buildings. The new facility will serve as a major truck stop with multiple service stations doing maintenance and repair for semi-trucks.
It was touch and go whether or not Werner was going to locate in Lake City - Columbia County, as City-County utility and other issues plagued the project in the beginning.
Perserverence by the often maligned County
Economic Development Director Glen Hunter kept
the project ontrack.
While a Community Development Block grant provided money for infrastructure lines, the tortoise-like movement of government and certain reporting mandates was not something the Werner management would tolerate. The company paid for the infrastructure itself.
The City and the County are working through abatements and paybacks to reimburse Werner for its public infrastructure investment.
More About Werner Enterprises
Werner is among the five largest truckload carriers in the United States. It has a diversified portfolio of transportation services: dedicated, medium-to-long-haul regional vehicles, many of which are temperature controlled.
Werner's logistics portfolio includes truck brokerage, freight management, intermodal, international, and final mile services. Through Werner's domestic and global subsidiary companies, international services are provided and include ocean, air and ground transportation, freight forwarding, and customs brokerage.
Werner maintains a diversified customer base with no one customer exceeding 8% of total revenues. Approximately 76% of the freight transported or managed by Werner consists of retail merchandise, grocery products, and consumer products.
Werner focuses on transporting consumer non-durable products that generally ship more consistently throughout the year and whose volumes are less variable when there is a cyclical downturn in the economy.
The terminal is located at 879 NW Bell Street in Lake City, Florida, 32055, phone: 386-401-7124.
Information for this article was gathered from: GlobeNewswire, Werner Enterprises, national and local sources.
