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04/23/09 -- Crete Carrier Corp’s New Facility Officially Breaks Ground in Roane County, TN
Kingston -- Crete Carrier Corp. -- among the nation's largest trucking companies -- officially broke ground earlier this week for its $8 million maintenance and service center along I-40 just east of Roane Regional Business and Technology Park.
The facility, on 27 acres near the east edge of Roane County, will include an 8,000 square-foot office/driver center and a 33,000 square-foot shop with 10 drive-through bays and refueling equipment. Expected to serve about 75 trucks per day, the operation will employ about 60 people on site, not including the fleet of drivers who will be using the facility on a daily basis.
In the planning for more than two years, the Roane County site is "the perfect location for us," said Karel Znamenacek, Crete's executive vice president, who said the site was chosen because of its proximity to I-40 and I-75. The Nebraska-based company operates 5,700 trucks and 13,000 trailers nationwide, serving truckload customers throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.
"We look forward to being a part of Roane County," said Crete's East Tennessee Accounting Supervisor Larry "Pete" Petr during the ground-breaking ceremony: "Crete has looked for a site like this for many years and is happy to see the construction begin."
Roane County Mayor Mike Farmer called the Crete ground-breaking "a wonderful celebration for the county and its taxpayers." Estimated to produce thousands in additional annual property taxes, not to mention the annual payroll, Farmer said "the Crete project will be a much-needed spur to the local economy."
The company has been clearing the land, formerly the site of Atomic Speedway, for several weeks. The state of Tennessee provided infrastructure assistance, providing grant assistance for a wastewater treatment facility, but the property deal was a private transaction, concluded without any publicly-funded incentive package.
"I'm pleased to welcome Crete to Roane County," said Matt Kisber, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. "Governor Phil Bredesen and I appreciate their investment in our citizens and our state, and we look forward to working with them in the future."
"Crete will be an ideal new industrial neighbor for Roane County," said Leslie Henderson, president and CEO of the Roane Alliance, citing its reputation as a good corporate citizen at its other locations around the country.
Driver facilities at the center will include a lounge, a lunch room, and a bunk room, and the office will work with drivers and recruit new employees, according to Znamenacek.
Crete, founded in 1966, now includes a Shaffer Trucking operating division and a wholly-owned subsidiary, Hunt Transportation. Together they offer full freight hauling services for virtually any commodity. The Roane County terminal, one of 22 Crete operates regionally across the country, will consolidate its maintenance and driver services in East Tennessee in one location. The facility is being built by Joseph Construction.
For further information, contact:
The Roane Alliance
1209 N. Kentucky Street
Kingston, TN 37763
PH.865-376-5572
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