Published: April 16, 2009 01:39 pm         

UPS to put distribution center in Ringgold

UPS Freight is moving a distribution center from Chattanooga to Ringgold. This facility on Gateway Drive will be the second largest distribution center in the state with 67 employees.

UPS, for United Parcel Service, is starting the move this weekend, and the date that the center will open to the public is unknown.

“This is a big win for Catoosa County,” county commission chairman Keith Greene said. “It’s a step in the right direction ... the beginning of a push toward economic development.”

The county was approached by UPS officials about eight months ago. UPS had been looking for a different site, chose the North Georgia area and found an existing building in Ringgold.

The decision to move operations 20 miles from Chattanooga to Ringgold was based on both present and future needs, according to company spokesman Ira Rosenfield.

In a press release, Rosenfield said, “To facilitate shipments in and around Chattanooga, ease truck congestion in the Hamilton Place burgeoning commercial area where we were located, the decision was made to seek a better site. The availability of the 46-door facility in Ringgold, which is newer than our Chattanooga facility, better situated to serve the majority of our facility’s customers who are located in northern Georgia and a larger property better suited for anticipated expansion, made Ringgold the ideal situation.”

Greene said the move will benefit both Catoosa County and Chattanooga.

“It’s not us against Chattanooga,” he said.

The new facility is located on Interstate 75 at the third exit south of the Tennessee-Georgia line, providing easy highway access into both Atlanta and Birmingham.

“Hats off to the commissioners and (Catoosa County) development authority,” Chamber of Commerce president Martha Eakers said.

     

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