Northeastern cargo carrier A. Duie Pyle recently announced plans to open new cargo hubs in Richmond, Manassas and Roanoke. (Courtesy of A. Duie Pyle)
A well-established Pennsylvania trucking company is revving its engine for a southern expansion, including a stop in Richmond.
Duie Pyle, a 98-year-old freight carrier, plans to have its new trucking and warehousing centers in Richmond, Manassas and Roanoke operational by mid-April, said John Luciani, chief operating officer of Pyle for partial load solutions.
Locally, Pyle will operate from a 16,500 square foot facility at 3609 E. Belt Blvd. in south Richmond.
Pyle bought the property for $2 million from Bex Logistics in a deal that was registered with the city in October, according to online property records. The facility sits on a site of approximately 5 acres and was recently valued at $925,000.
Although the company’s trucks already use Virginia’s highways, Pyle decided to invest in facilities in Virginia to bolster its operations in the Old Dominion. The expansion, which was announced by Governor Glenn Youngkin’s office and the company this month, spanned several years and was driven by customer demand.
“Richmond and Virginia more specifically have been part of our strategic initiative to expand our footprint and reach throughout the Northeast,” Luciani said. “Our customers are pushing us to do more to support their supply chain. We were at a competitive disadvantage and wanted to correct that by expanding into Virginia. »
A. Duie Pyle spent $2 million to purchase a 16,500 square foot facility at 3609 E. Belt Blvd. serve as a hub for Richmond. (Photo by Jack Jacobs)
The Richmond facility has 50 service doors allowing trucks to load and unload goods. The company expects 25 employees to work there.
“It’s a freight hub that we move shipments through that ultimately get delivered to the greater Virginia area,” Luciani said.
He said the company spent $20 million acquiring its Virginia facilities. The Manassas facility has 30 service doors and the Roanoke facility has 16 service doors, and they will have 50 employees between them.
Hiring of the Pyle team in Virginia is underway, although the company expects some existing employees to move to Virginia to join the team.
“We have about 10 people who want to transfer from existing operations in the northeast to areas in Virginia,” Luciani said.
Pyle retains its headquarters in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and has more than 40 trucking and warehousing facilities, according to its website.
Elsewhere in the local trucking industry, Richmond-based Git The Trucking Commercial Tires recently opened a tire store in Petersburg and plans to open another in Portsmouth. Chester-based trucking company Abilene Motor Express is opening new trailer storage lots locally and out of state.
