Pennsylvania warehousing company invests $12M in Pulaski County operation

Milton, Pennsylvania-based warehousing company The Patton Logistics Group will invest $12 million to establish a logistics and warehousing operation in the New River Valley Commerce Park in Pulaski County, creating 33 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday.

Virginia competed with North Carolina for the project, which will create a hub for motor carrier freight services for eastern U.S. clients. Patton, through its integrated supply chain services, has established clients in the U.S. and Canada. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Pulaski County and economic development agencies Virginia’s First Regional Industrial Facility Authority and Onward New River Valley to secure the project. 

Northam also approved a $150,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund (COF) for the project. The COF is “deal-closing” and is used to secure a company location or expansion in the state. It’s considered the final resource to be used when in competition with other states for a project, according to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.

“This project will bring 33 new jobs and strengthen Virginia’s supply chain management sector,” Northam said in a statement. “We are confident that the region’s top-notch workforce and access to expanding markets along I-81 and I-77 will help the company serve its growing client list.”

The Patton Logistics Group includes three separate organizations employing a total of 560 people in the U.S. Family-owned and operated Watsontown Trucking Company, founded in 1941, operates a fleet of 400 trucks and 1,150 trailers. In 2013, Patton Logistics LLC was organized to provide the transportation brokerage and third-party logistics services. Two years later, Patton Warehousing LLC was formed to manage the group’s warehouse space. Today, Patton Warehousing manages 1.6 million square feet of warehousing space in Pennsylvania, Ohio and New Jersey. 

“Over the past several years we have developed a motor carrier transportation and logistics presence in Southwest Virginia and throughout the Southeastern United States,” Steve Patton, president of Watsontown Trucking Company and Patton Warehousing and Logistics said in a statement. Patton says the choice to expand in Dublin (the town in Pulaski County where the project will be located) was three-pronged. 

“First, this location provides access to a superior workforce that is dedicated to help us develop a reliable logistics system for our clients,” he says. “Also, the close proximity to the interstate highway system gives us the ability to provide daily service to population centers in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Tennessee. Finally, Southwest Virginia is home to two of our largest clients and having a location near them will only enhance our ability to serve their logistics needs in the future.” 

Patton Logistics is eligible to receive state benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.