OnTrac employees and officials with the city of Vancouver WA cut the ribbon to celebrate the new 65000squarefoot facility almost three times larger than the building it replaces Photo Neil Abt

Operations

E-commerce boost leads to another ribbon cutting for OnTrac

Aug. 28, 2017

Parcel delivery firm nearly triples presence in Vancouver, WA.

VANCOUVER, WA. As e-commerce sales continue to soar, OnTrac, a western-based parcel delivery firm, continues to have additional reasons to celebrate.

The latest was the official unveiling of its new sorting facility on Aug. 24 in Vancouver, WA. It is located just blocks from the Port of Vancouver and less than 10 miles from Portland, OR.

It is 162,000-square-feet with 35 dock doors. OnTrac’s old Vancouver facility was 67,000-square-feet with 13 doors.

“We can sort the packages we have today, but have plenty of room to handle additional packages,” said general manager Tony Franz, a 17-year resident of Vancouver.

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OnTrac's new facility near the Port of Vancouver. (Photo: Neil Abt)

Earlier this summer, OnTrac opened its largest distribution center, almost 600,000-square-feet, in Fontana, CA. Mikel Mobley, director of sales at that facility, said online orders account for about three-quarters of the shipments.

OnTrac was founded in 1991 as California Overnight, a division of parent company Express Messenger Systems Inc. It has 2,700 employees and 30 facilities across eight states. It utilizes 4,000 owner-operators.

In 2014, OnTrac launched DirectPost, and became the first regional logistics company to offer a U.S. Postal Service package consolidation service.

Meanwhile, the Washington-state facility, which actually has been operational for several months, works particularly closely with four satellite facilities in Oregon: Salem, Medford, Eugene, and Bend.

Currently about 4,000 packages an hour can move through the facility, though that can be expanded to up to 7,000 when needed. That includes shipments from its messenger, intentional, and overnight divisions.

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Not long after the celebration lunch ended, employees resume unloading a trailer. (Photo: Neil Abt)

The expansion has resulted in the hiring of dozens of new workers, and additional hiring is ongoing.

To Anne McEnerny-Ogle, mayor pro team of Vancouver, that was reason to celebrate. She made note of OnTrac’s four nearby facilities in neighboring Oregon, and thanked the company for choosing to further grow its footprint on the Washington side of the Columbia River.

“OnTrac had many choices and we are extremely happy you choose Vancouver,” said John McDonagh, CEO of the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce.

McDonagh also credited the work of the Port of Vancouver, saying without them the project “may not have been feasible.”

Further expansion near the port is likely – a “for sale” sign was visible on the lot next to OnTrac’s new building.

About the Author

Neil Abt

Neil Abt, editorial director at Fleet Owner, is a veteran journalist with over 20 years of reporting experience, including 15 years spent covering the trucking industry. A graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., he began his career covering sports for The Washington Post newspaper, followed by a position in the newsroom of America Online (AOL) and then both reporting and leadership roles at Transport Topics. Abt is based out of Portland, Oregon.