Glen Raven Transportation, a less-than-truckload carrier specializing in routes to Mexico, the Northeast, Midwest and California, is planning a major expansion of its service offerings through relocation to recently-renovated facilities in Alamance County, N.C., including a 150,000-square-foot warehouse.
“We have simply outgrown our current location,” says Charlie Edgerton, director of Glen Raven Transportation. “Our new location will not only provide the space we need for current operations, but also open up new service opportunities with the addition of a major warehouse facility.”
The new location for Glen Raven Transportation is a former Glen Raven manufacturing facility in the community of Altamahaw, which is adjacent to the original site of Glen Raven’s founding more than 125 years ago. Most recently, the facility had been operated as a manufacturing site by Unifi. “Renovation plans will include the construction of loading docks and conversion of manufacturing areas for warehousing,” Edgerton says. “Some of our new service offerings will include consolidation and staging for consumer and trade goods.”
Glen Raven Transportation, which was created originally to serve Glen Raven’s manufacturing facilities, began an aggressive program of diversification in 1995 by offering services to other companies. One of its first ventures was the creation of transportation services into Mexico, with the opening of a terminal in Laredo, Texas, and sales office in Mexico City.
Other key routes for Glen Raven Transportation include the Northeast, Midwest and West Coast. A subspecialty in automotive components also is growing, Edgerton says. “With so many automotive suppliers in the South, there is a need for an efficient service to deliver these goods to Detroit,” he says. “We are filling this niche.”
Glen Raven Transportation operates 25 tractors and 160 trailers and also has continuing contracts with 25 owner-operators who primarily serve West Coast customers. Because of the diversification of services and customers, only about 20 percent of the freight hauled today by Glen Raven Transportation originates from Glen Raven’s manufacturing facilities. “We are definitely a niche player,” Edgerton says. “Our customers select us for their less-than-truckload needs because they know as a smaller carrier we are very nimble and service-oriented.”
