Business & Tech

Cherry Hill Trucking Firm Expanding into Lehigh Valley

National Freight Industries is adding jobs as part of the opening of a new distribution center.

A Cherry Hill-based trucking company is expanding into the Lehigh Valley, announcing a plan Tuesday to add more than 100 jobs at a new distribution facility.

National Freight Industries (NFI), which has its headquarters on Burnt Mill Road, will move into a yet-to-be-built 980,000-square-foot facility just outside Allentown, PA, the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) announced, which will be used for warehouse and distribution services.

NFI’s expansion is tied to the new Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. facility in neighboring Upper Macungie Township, and NFI officials hailed it as a critical piece in the distribution market on the East Coast.

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“NFI is proud to be a part of this exciting project and expand our footprint in the Lehigh Valley,” said CEO Sid Brown in a statement. “We’re delighted to grow our existing relationship with Ocean Spray and to be a part of its development.”

NFI will add 126 jobs in the Lehigh Valley as part of the expansion; contrary to some reports, the company is not shifting its Cherry Hill operations or moving any workers from New Jersey, officials said.

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The Hillwood Group, a Texas-based developer run by Ross Perot Jr., is building the distribution center; with NFI’s contributions, the two companies are investing roughly $60 million in the property, LVEDC officials said.

“The NFI distribution operation represents a major investment by NFI and Hillwood,” said Don Cunningham, LVEDC’s president and CEO. “The creation of jobs and a broader tax base is the essence of economic development—as well as a nice addition to the Lehigh Valley community. This economic boost is in addition to the huge impact the Ocean Spray facility will bring to Lehigh Valley.”

NFI’s distribution center should be done around the end of this year, Cunningham said, in time to meet the first runs from the nearby Ocean Spray bottling plant.


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