Harbor Freight Celebrates New Distribution Center in Joliet, Will County

Harbor Freight Tools opened its new 1.6 million square foot distribution center located at 3401 Brandon Road in the CenterPoint Intermodal Center with a celebratory ribbon cutting ceremony that included Harbor officials, Will County Executive, Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, Joliet Mayor Bob O’Dekirk, officials from Joliet Township High School District, Will County CED President, Doug Pryor, and many guests. This new center will allow the retailer to efficiently deliver products to more than 300 stores in 16 states in the Midwest.

In recognition of the importance of public high school trades education for the country’s future, and the career pathways being developed in the Joliet community, the Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC provided a $100,000 grant to the Joliet Township High School District #204. In addition, the company itself is donating $10,000 in gift cards to help update and furnish trades classroom spaces at two local high schools, Joliet Central High School and Joliet West High School, plus a Full Bank Tool Cart in the schools’ colors.

A company spokesman expressed thanks to its Joliet partners, including local contractors and crews who built the new facility. The new distribution center will reduce the company’s carbon footprint by eliminating the need to transport products to the region from either coast. The state-of-the-art center contains the latest in technology, including automatic storage and retrieval and robotic operations. Hiring is underway with approximately 800 jobs with competitive wages and benefits offered.

The CED’s Doug Pryor shared that work on this project began locally with our first call in August 2017.

“Sometimes good projects can take a long time.”

One thing that stood out for Doug was the extraordinary time that Harbor’s senior leadership spent planning for this project and how it would bring benefit to the community and to their customers.

“Companies like Harbor, committed to being strong employers and advocates for your business, help raise the economy of the region and make sure that Will County remains a location of choice for residents and businesses now and in the future.“