FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Inside Indiana Business): Arkansas-based ABF Freight System cut the ribbon on its new, $4.8 million facility in Fort Wayne on Wednesday. The city says the company’s previous location will be torn down to make way for Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream’s previously-announced $145 million expansion.
The new ABF location in the Adams Center Road Industrial Park is a 27,600-square-foot trucking terminal that will serve as the company’s hub in Fort Wayne.
ABF specializes in less-than-truckload (LTL) services, which combines several separate shipments into a single truck, giving small businesses and e-commerce companies a more cost-effective option.
The Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission made the site for the new location available to ABF as part of an economic development agreement with Dreyer’s. The ice cream maker acquired the previous ABF terminal, which will be demolished to make way for the company’s expansion.
“We’re pleased to have collaborated with the City of Fort Wayne and Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream to help grow the local economy,” ABF Freight President Seth Runser said in written remarks. “We’re committed to providing excellent service across the greater Fort Wayne area and are happy to be in this new facility.”
Dreyer’s announced in June 2021 plans to expand its Fort Wayne production facility and add up to 145 jobs by the end of 2024. The expansion will include two new production lines for its Drumstick products.
ABF says it retained 28 jobs with the relocation.
