Ryder expands Chicago-area footprint

Logistics and transportation company Ryder System, Inc. is expanding in the Chicago area, adding its 10th multi-client distribution center (DC) in the region, the company said Wednesday.

Located in North Aurora, Ill., the 550,000 square-foot facility will mainly serve shippers of consumer-packaged goods, including food and beverage, health and beauty, and household products, as well as general retail merchandise, the company also said.

The DC is scheduled to open in early January.

“The multi-client warehouse expands our footprint in a key distribution hub, which is a one- to two-day drive from about half of the U.S. population,” Darin Cooprider, senior vice president of consumer-packaged goods for Ryder, said in a press release. “Chicagoland also has a dense labor force, and with other Ryder warehouse operations nearby, we can offer the flexibility customers often need to manage seasonal and market changes.”

The facility joins Ryder’s network of nine multi-client and eight dedicated-customer warehouses in the greater Chicago area as part of its acquisition of Midwest Warehouse & Distribution System late last year.

The facility will feature 54 cross-dock positions, 162 trailer stalls, access to area railroad ramps, ambient temperature controls, and food-grade certification. Ryder said it plans to recruit for approximately 100 positions to support the warehouse operations.