Con-Way Southern Express has held the groundbreaking for its $6.8 million service center facility in Bessemer, AL. The new facility will replace CSE's current Birmingham facility at 601 Republic Circle and double its freight handling capacity.

Employment will increase from 53 to 75 employees. Construction of the state-of-the art facility is scheduled for completion in November 2000.
"Birmingham is not only a growing local market for us, it's also a pivotal relay location for moving freight between markets to the east and west. We're able to provide the Carolinas, Georgia and eastern Tennessee with next-day and second-day delivery service to Mississippi,
Louisiana and Texas because of our freight handling operations in Birmingham," said John T. Hickerson, president and chief executive officer of CSE.
The 62,000-square-foot facility will be located on 26 acres at 4930 Perimeter Way in Perimeter Industrial Park off Interstate 459 and McCalla Road. Freight handling capacity will double from 6 million to 12 million pounds per week, while dock capacity will increase from 24 doors
to 100 doors with the ability to add 50 additional doors as business growth dictates. The facility will have 8,000 square feet of offices, 38,000 square feet of dock space, and two and a half bays dedicated to maintenance and fueling.