A. Duie Pyle, a Northeast transportation and logistics provider, is expanding its capabilities in New England with the recent opening of the company’s newest 18-acre service center in Johnston, R.I., to serve customers in Rhode Island, Eastern Connecticut and Southeastern Massachusetts. A special event for local customers, dignitaries and employees was held Thursday, Oct. 2.
According to A. Duie Pyle Chairman and owner Peter Latta, the decision to build the new Johnston service center was based on the need for expanded capabilities at a site where additional growth could be accommodated. While the company had operated a service center in nearby Webster, Mass., building two new $30 million state-of-the-art facilities — one in Johnston and another in Northborough, Mass. — was viewed as a more efficient way to maintain and enhance customer service. “Building these two new facilities provided opportunities to create an infrastructure to better serve our customers,” Latta says.
A. Duie Pyle’s new service center incorporates features and technologies designed to better serve customers, assure security, save energy and protect the environment. The center currently features 67 doors for loading and unloading trailers, with room for an additional expansion up to 110 doors. A separate building houses a truck/trailer maintenance shop and an automatic drive-through truckwash. Ceiling heights in the service center have been raised to 21 feet to accommodate racking systems for shipment storage.
“The racking system will enable us to safely store our customer’s products for short periods of time to accommodate customers working with just-in-time inventory systems,” says Dan Meehan, terminal manager. “It lets us hold the freight and deliver it exactly when the customer needs it.”
A proprietary Qualcomm satellite tracking system, used in Johnston and throughout A. Duie Pyle operations, offers real-time communication between drivers, dispatchers and customers, further enhancing the company’s just-in-time delivery capabilities. The security of freight and facilities, and the safety of employees, also was a consideration in constructing the Johnston service center: The site is fully gated and remotely monitored 24/7 by a third-party security service for fire and burglar protection, and the buildings are fully protected with wet and dry fire suppression sprinkler systems.
Energy-efficient systems have been installed for lighting, heat and air conditioning. Interior and exterior lights are controlled by motion detectors and photo cells, and the buildings are heated and cooled by an HVAC system that can be controlled offsite from the company headquarters in West Chester, Pa.
“We’re investing for the future,” Latta says. “We have a great team and a reputation for a high-reliability service. With our locations, facilities and technologies, we can better serve customers following just-in-time practices. We will continue to build our tools and infrastructure so that we can continue to serve our customers well.”
