What’s Alaska’s nickname, “The Last Frontier”?
Ryder System Inc. has recently placed a big footprint in that frontier, as the company opened its first full-scale maintenance facility in the state, centrally located in Anchorage. The state-of-the-art facility provides maintenance, rental, and leasing services for commercial vehicle fleets in one location.
This new location will replace the existing maintenance facility originally built largely to service The Odom Corporation’s fleet, an 85-year-old family-owned beverage distributor and the facility’s largest customer. The facility conveniently is located just off the New Seward Highway and Walter J. Hickel Parkway, less than 1.5 miles from The Odom Corporation’s warehouse in a spot. The new facility was built to expand Ryder’s ability to provide commercial vehicle services in the growing Alaska market.
“This expansion comes six years after we first established roots in Anchorage, and the demand for our services speaks to the strong partnership between Ryder and the local business community,” said John Diez, President of Fleet Management Solutions for Ryder. “This facility allows us to meet the growing economic needs of Anchorage, as well as strengthen our presence in other parts of the state, while ensuring our customers have the capabilities and resources they need to grow themselves.”
The new facility was designed to meet the needs of Ryder’s customers in this challenging climate. With below freezing temperatures for nearly half of the year, the Anchorage facility offers indoor wash bays and 30 plug-in locations to keep engines warm and ensure quick starts.
The new shop is three times larger than the old shop and will have triple the number of employees to assist with rentals, leasing, maintenance, and shop support. The location features six spacious work stations, which more than doubles the capacity of the former location. It also offers a sizable selection of rental trucks and trailers on a 6½- acre lot. Future plans for the location include above-ground fuel tanks to provide a one-stop-shop for Ryder’s customers.
“The new maintenance facility offers us the means to more reliably serve our customers,” said John Odom, President and CEO of The Odom Corporation. “We’re thankful for the investment Ryder has made in the community, and we’re proud of how far our relationship has come since our very first truck rental from them in Spokane, Washington. We look forward to continuing to build on our footprint in the Northwest United States and the South Pacific.”
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
