Enhanced Midwest hub to serve customers across U.S. and Canada

Highway Transport has opened an $11 million flagship service center located in Chicago and serving as a Midwest hub for its current and growing customers across the U.S. and Canada.

As an American family-owned and operated business, Highway Transport is a leader in bulk transportation of specialty chemicals and is recognized in the industry for safety and effectiveness. Highway Transport received the Responsible Care® Partner of the Year Award in 2019, 2021 and 2022 in recognition of superb performance and safety records, and company driver Tom Frain was named 2021-2022 Professional Tank Truck Driver of the Year Grand Champion by the National Tank Truck Carriers (NTTC).

The Chicago Service Center will continue to serve as a central hub for Highway Transport tanker trucks and professional tanker drivers as they safely transport chemicals for companies across the country. Located in Clarius Business Park in Channahon, Illinois, the facility is one of more than 20 Highway Transport Service Centers in the United States, serving 49 states and Canada.

Highway Transport has opened an $11 million flagship service center located in Chicago and serving as a Midwest hub for its current and growing customers across the U.S. and Canada – supporting the U.S. economy through various industries and clients and adding jobs, including professional drivers.
Highway Transport has opened an $11 million flagship service center located in Chicago and serving as a Midwest hub for its current and growing customers across the U.S. and Canada – supporting the U.S. economy through various industries and clients and adding jobs, including professional drivers.

Employing on-site team members and professional truck drivers, the Chicago Service Center is expected to add approximately 70 new employees in the coming years. Team members and drivers located there will coordinate logistics, technology, cleaning processes and other critical operations on-site. The facility includes parking for tanker trucks from the company’s fleet of more than 465 trucks and 900-plus stainless-steel tanker trailers. The opening of the new Chicago facility is one example of how Highway Transport currently is in “expansion mode,” and the company also is scheduled to receive 170 additional trailers and 52 more tractors this year.

Highway Transport has achieved a record number of professional drivers on staff this year, thanks to the company’s recent and continued efforts to celebrate, support and reward its elite team of tanker truck drivers. The company is achieving its 2022 goals for driver count, through both recruiting and retention, by enhancing Highway Transport programs that support individual drivers, owner-operators and the entire team across the U.S.

“Our new chemical tanker truck facility marks our commitment to both the greater Chicago area and to our customers and team members across the U.S.,” Highway Transport President and CFO Marshall Franklin said. “With the expanded Chicago service center, we are better positioned to serve many chemical companies in Illinois, the Midwest and beyond. This is an important investment for our company. We remain committed to providing award-winning safety and service to our customers, as well as the community, which is reflected by the environmental safety measures we took in expanding the facility and setting up our safety and cleaning protocols on-site.”

The 17,730-square-foot service center located on nearly 23 acres doubles the size of Highway Transport’s previous leased facility in Joliet where it operated for two decades.

To celebrate the grand opening, Highway Transport team members participated in a community volunteer day through the company’s Highway Helping Hands program. More than 30 team members volunteered at Chicago’s Ronald McDonald House and The Bridge Teen Center in Orland Park.

The company also hosted a grand opening celebration at the new facility on June 22, welcoming area elected officials and community leaders, customers and business owners, vendors and partners to tour the Chicago Service Center.

“Highway Transport has invested in a state-of-the-art service center, including the latest systems and technology to ensure a safe and worker-friendly environment,” said Kyle Lukwinski, Highway Transport’s service center manager in Chicago. “We care about our tanker drivers and employees, and this facility is designed with their safety and convenience in mind. When we take care of our team and our drivers, they are best equipped to fulfill our commitment to providing award-winning safety and service to our customers. Our expanded Chicago Service Center is a critical component in delivering on our promise – which includes caring for our customers and caring for our community here in Chicago.”

The facility includes a maintenance shop, tank wash, multiple offices and a conference room. It also provides full amenities for Highway Transport professional drivers, including a comfortable break room to watch television and movies, Wi-Fi access, showers and more within the secure, gated facility. The Highway Transport Chicago Service Center project was led by Principle Construction and Partners in Design.

“With our new Service Center open, it will support our company and team members to continue to serve clients with a more than 98 percent on-time rate, while maintaining our commitment to quality and safety,” Franklin said. “As we grow in Chicago and beyond, the elite drivers joining our team are on time, well presented at delivery and committed to the highest-level safety protocols that our customers know and trust.”