Western Express to Invest $88 Million, Add 225 Jobs in Tennessee
A Nashville-based freight company announced May 1 it will spend $88 million and add 225 jobs as it adds new technology, business services and back-office support at its headquarters and expands its truck fleet nationwide.
Western Express Inc., which Donna and Wayne Wise founded in 1991, expects to top $800 million in sales this year.
The company has terminals stretching from Pennsylvania to California with 7,560 trailers offering dry van, flatbed, dedicated fleet, logistics, and expedited truck and rail options.
“Our expansion has been through organic growth and acquisitions,” CEO Paul Wieck said in the announcement. “We will continue to grow our fleet and our team.”
Western Express has more than 2,100 employees in Tennessee 3,600 worldwide.
Western Express is No. 58 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.
Besides the headquarters positions, Western Express will hire more than 350 drivers each year over the next five years.
The expansion is the latest in Tennessee’s growing trucking and logistics industry, which includes FedEx Corp. in Memphis and U.S. Xpress Enterprises and Covenant Transport in Chattanooga, among thousands of other freight, logistics and trucking businesses across the state.
“Tennessee is home to more than 16,000 distribution and logistics establishments, and we continue to see an uptick in this industry’s momentum,” said Bob Rolfe, commissioner for Tennessee’s Department of Economic and Community Development.
The announcement is the latest among 67 major business investments reported by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development in Davidson County, which collectively have created 21,000 jobs and $2.1 billion of capital investment.
“The expansion of Western Express in Nashville is another sign of how Middle Tennessee is thriving and attracting top businesses and investment,” Gov. Bill Lee said in a statement May 1.
