(L-r) Gary City Council members Linda Barnes-Caldwell, Ron Brewer, Mayor Freeman-Wilson, Gov. Holcomb, HMD owners Henry and Daiya Malukas, and Karen Lauerman, Lake County Economic Alliance president.

HMD Trucking breaks ground on new HQ in Gary

Contributed By:The 411 News

Governor Eric J. Holcomb and Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson joined executives from HMD Trucking, a transportation and logistics service provider, today as the company announced plans to expand its operations to northwest Indiana. The company, which broke ground on a 35,000-square-foot facility today, will designate Indiana as its new corporate headquarters and plans to create up to 500 new jobs for Hoosiers by 2021.

“We are thrilled to welcome HMD Trucking to Indiana - home to balanced budgets, an AAA credit rating and a low cost of doing business," said Governor Eric J. Holcomb. "It is clear why HMD Trucking decided to move from Illinois to Indiana. We have become the best state in the Midwest to start, get and grow jobs."

The company, which is currently located in Chicago Ridge, Illinois, and hauls freight across the U.S., will invest nearly $6 million to expand its trucking operations to an 11-acre site at 1350 Texas St. in Gary, near USW’s McBride Hall.

The new, state-of-the-art facility, which will serve as the company’s corporate headquarters, will include a 9,000-square-foot office building for its administrative team and a 26,000-square-foot space for truck and trailer maintenance, repair and warehouse. The company, which will maintain a warehouse distribution center in Illinois, plans to complete construction and move into its new Indiana facility in 2018.

“We chose Indiana and the city of Gary for this investment because of the affordability to grow our business and build our new facility, advancements in the logistics industry and central location, which makes it easy for us serve our entire marketplace with more direct routes, avoiding congestion and time delays," said Henry Malukas, president and founder of HMD Trucking. "Locating at this site in Gary is a perfect match and we look forward to a long and valued relationship with the city and the state of Indiana.”

The company, which currently employs 400 office and trucking associates in Illinois, plans to relocate a small number of its executive leadership team to Indiana and locate new growth at its Gary site. HMD Trucking plans to start hiring drivers at the end of 2017 and to list job openings for multiple types of positions, including warehouse associates, office staff, drivers, mechanics and management professionals, in 2018. Interested applicants can apply online.

"The city of Gary is building economic strength and momentum. With job creation plus investment in new construction, HMD Trucking is committed to the growth and prosperity of both their business and the city," said Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson. "I am pleased that HMD and the Malukas family recognize the opportunities in this community and look forward to partnering with them for generations to come.”

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered HMD Trucking Inc up to $2,950,000 million in conditional tax credits and $75,000 in training grants based on the company's job creation plans. These incentives are performance-based, meaning until Hoosiers are hired, the company is not eligible to claim incentives. The city of Gary supports this project at the request of the Lake County IN Economic Alliance.

Gov. Holcomb used the groundbreaking to announce Indiana’s Next Level Jobs initiative focused on meeting Indiana’s current and future workforce needs. And he announced two new grant programs designed to put Hoosiers to work in high-demand, high-wage jobs: The Workforce Ready Grant, which will skill-up adults to fill jobs in high-demand industries, and the Employer Training Grant, which will help offset employer costs for on-the-job training.

Story Posted:08/18/2017