FedEx breaks ground on Romeoville facility
By Janet Lundquist jlundquist@stmedianetwork.com May 10, 2012 10:32PM
Romeoville Mayor John Noak (left) shakes hands with Steve Gulden (right), Romeoville director and village manager, during a groundbreaking ceremony for a new FedEx Ground distribution center on May 10 in Romeoville. | Matthew Grotto~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: June 12, 2012 8:10AM
ROMEOVILLE — Over the last few years, the village of Romeoville has focused a lot of attention on the way it does business.
In the midst of a bad economy, Romeoville officials analyzed their methods of business recruitment and tried to streamline the process of approval.
They found that being receptive and accommodating is more than half the battle, said Village Manager Steve Gulden.
“The relationship and the process is as important, it could be even more important, than the actual site,” Gulden said.
That self-analysis has paid off for Romeoville, as evidenced by a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new FedEx Ground distribution center there Thursday morning.
The 238,000-square-foot center will be at 920 W. Taylor Road, and is scheduled to open in the fall of 2013.
The center will employ 270 people, many of whom will transfer there from eight other Chicago-area FedEx Ground facilities. Company officials say this will allow for growth at all of the facilities.
“Those jobs buy gas here in town. They go to our Walmart, they go to our Chili’s,” Gulden said. “Those dollars get spent in our community.”
Ward Strang, chief operating officer and executive vice president of FedEx Ground, bolstered Romeoville’s strategy for business recruitment, saying the relationship with village officials sealed the company’s decision on location.
“Geographically we knew we needed to be in this (area),” Strang said. “From there we started to look at dealing with various economic development (departments). Romeoville was fantastic.”
The volume of packages FedEx Ground handles daily has doubled over the past 10 years, company officials said. The Romeoville center will sort 15,000 packages an hour.
Romeoville Mayor John Noak said the FedEx Ground facility is part of a trend of new construction in town. Last year businesses absorbed existing space, while this year has seen new construction and land purchases for future development, he said.
“The decision by FedEx further enhances our reputation as a premiere location where business can thrive,” Noak said. “FedEx is an amazing company. It’s not every day you have a groundbreaking like this.”
