Hanson Logistics, St. Joseph, Mich., announced the Phase 3 expansion of its temperature-controlled Chicago Consolidation Center, located in Hobart, Ind. This third expansion in five years reflects the rising momentum of Hanson’s Velocities Multi-Vendor Consolidation program, a solution to the on-demand complexity of filling multiple SKU frozen food orders shipping to all major retail, wholesale and foodservice distribution centers throughout the United States. Construction of the project will be handled by Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Tippmann Construction.

“[The company’s 2007 decision to build a new consolidation center on the unorthodox east side of Chicago] was a new business model in an unproven location,” says Andrew Janson, president. “We were, pardon the pun, breaking new ground in terms of both traditional refrigerated warehousing service and predictable warehouse location. There are many Hanson associates to thank for their ‘Yes, We Can!’ commitment in making this vision a reality.”

The 100,000-square-foot expansion, slated for completion in the third quarter of 2013, will feature energy saving LED lighting, 12,000 new pallet positions and 14 in-swing dock doors, which allows the trailer doors to be opened from inside the facility, reducing loading times and energy loss and increasing food security. The Chicago Consolidation Center will increase to 11,000,000 cubic feet, virtually all of which is devoted to high-volume throughput, including flexible racking for quick-pick consolidation and cross docking of temperature-controlled food products. The Hanson Transportation Management Services and refrigerated truck fleet operates from the facility, and provides inbound shuttle service and nationwide truckload and less-than-truckload service. Velocities Multi-Vendor Consolidation program encompasses Walmart’s Vendor Pool 391 with scheduled vendor-shared truckloads to all major retail, wholesale and foodservice distribution centers throughout the United States.

“It’s great to be working with the Hanson Logistics team on this expansion,” says John Tippmann, Jr., president of Tippmann Group. “We’ve known them for a long time as colleagues in the industry, and we are looking forward to providing them with an excellent addition to their building.”

Located adjacent to the I-80, I-94 and I-65 interchange in northwest Indiana, the Chicago Consolidation Center offers the optimum combination of location, business climate and robust infrastructure. Velocities has become the go-to consolidation program in the greater Midwest for mid-tier food manufacturers that are unable to achieve by their order mix the economies of truckload delivery.