Decker Truck Line Inc. is investing nearly $2 million in a new terminal in Bessemer, AL, rolling ahead with plans to move and expand from its operations in Birmingham's Daniel Payne Industrial Park. The company is also planning to add as many as 50 trucks to the Bessemer facility and is looking for drivers to fill the seats.
Decker closed on the purchase this week of a 15,700-sq.-ft. warehouse with an attached 8,000-sq.-ft. office at 1280 Powder Plant Road in Bessemer. The Fort Dodge, IA-based company plans to use the building as its new Birmingham terminal, which will include operations, dispatch and maintenance for its fleet of nearly 70 trucks.
“We just outgrew our current building,” Don Decker, president & chairman said in an interview with the Birmingham News. “The (April 27) tornado that went through that area also damaged the building, so it made now a good time to make the move.”
Since buying another trucking company that was in Daniel Payne eight years ago, Decker said the Birmingham operation has grown from 30 trucks to close to 70. “We’ve doubled the size of it and we would like to double it again,” he said.
Decker Truck Line is part of the Decker Companies, which has approximately 1,050 employees and 700 tractors and 1,550 trailers on the road. The firm serves more than 300 customers and transports more than 11,000 loads every month. In addition to the Birmingham terminal, the company has six other terminals in other states.
Decker said the company recently purchased around 200 new rigs with trucks and trailers costing between $125,000 and $150,000 each. He wants to move as many as 50 of them to the new Bessemer facility but is in need of around 50 new drivers to make it happen. “We’re always looking for drivers, but we really need them here now with our plans to expand,” Decker said.
Drivers looking for work can go to the company's website, http://www.deckertruckline.com.
