Outsourced Logistics

SANTA FE SPRINGS, California – Weber Distribution, a leading third party logistics and supply chain management provider, celebrates its 85th anniversary this year.  This marks the company as one of the longest operating privately-held third party logistics providers in the industry today, while continuing to expand its service offerings with supply chain modeling and network optimization solutions.

In 1924 Weber Distribution began its operations as a single warehouse and trucking company and today it is a full service, complete logistics provider offering contract logistics, shared facility warehousing, nationwide LTL and TL services, freight management, and transloading/cross docking, along with a wide-variety of value-added services such as pick-pack, packaging, light assembly and full automation. Weber specializes in working with importers, retailers, food, beverage and CPG companies, and chemical and paper manufacturers. 

 

“We have longevity and a solid reputation in the markets we service, which is always a positive for customers, especially in these challenging economic times,” said Bill Butler, Weber’s president and CEO. “Many logistics and transportation companies have merged or have been acquired by other businesses as a result of insufficient funding, but we have continued to invest in our employees, new technologies and innovative and value-added services for our customers.”

“The 3PLs who are surviving and even thriving in this economy have an industry knowledge that allows them to expand their existing solutions and find new ways to service their customers such as with supply chain modeling, network optimization and other value added strategies,” said Butler. “Because of Weber’s staying power in the market, many manufacturers have recently looked to us for non-traditional services to save them money and improve cash flow.”

One such customer is California Innovations who recently asked Weber to assemble its product at Weber’s Fontana, California-based facility. “We have peace of mind with Weber,” said Carlos Garrido, California Innovations’ director of operations (logistics & distribution). “They have been in the business a long time which is indicative of their ability to adapt and prosper in the 3PL industry. Their 85 years gives us the confidence that we are partnering with someone who is not a fly-by-night operation.”

Butler said that Weber has also worked hard to create a stable working environment for its employees, even in tough times. “This offers a tremendous advantage to our customers because from warehousing to customer service to drivers to senior management, we have employees who have been with Weber for 15, 20, even 30 years.”

As a result, Weber has been doing business with many of its customers for more than a decade, including VONS/Safeway (20 years), Arkema Inc. (18 years), ISP (18 years), Capsugel (12 years), Agfa (10 years), Franklin Industries (10 years), Georgia Pacific Resins (10 years), Huntsman (10 years), Ocean Spray (15 years), PPG (10 years), Airgas, Inc. (10 years), Regent Sports (10 years), and various divisions of Coca-Cola (10 years).

 

About Weber Distribution

Based in Los Angeles, Weber Distribution has evolved into a nationwide provider of logistics solutions.  Weber’s expertise includes non-asset freight management, asset-based LTL and TL services, including temperature-controlled, dedicated and shared warehousing, distribution, cross-docking/pool distribution, transloading, network optimization modeling and analysis, retail compliance, order fulfillment, material handling, supply chain management, real estate development, and personnel staffing.

Weber specializes in providing its clients with unique logistics solutions primarily to these vertical markets:

 Import

 Retail

 Food & Beverage

 Consumer Packaged Goods

 Chemical/Specialty Products

 Paper

Weber serves many well-known and respected companies such as Wal-Mart, Target, Safeway, General Mills, Hershey, Nestlé, Applica Consumer Products, California Innovations, Scholastic Books, and PPG Industries.  As a result of its on-going innovation, experience and dedication, Weber has been the recipient of numerous industry awards, including:

 Inbound Logistics’ Top 100 3PLs

 Logistics Management’s Top 50 3PLs

 The Los Angeles Business Journal’s Top 100 Privately-Held Companies

 Food Logistics Magazine’s Top 50 3PLs

 Food Logistics Magazine’s FL100 listing of the top technology solution and service providers to the food industry.

 Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies’ 100 Great Supply Chain Partners

For more information about Weber Distribution and its services, please call 877-624-2700 or visit www.weberdistribution.com.

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A brief Weber history:

Weber Distribution began in 1924 with one small warehouse in downtown Los Angeles. Today, it operates distribution centers, transportation terminals, and cross-docking facilities throughout the United States.  

The following is a brief snap-shot and timeline of Weber Distribution:

1924  Karl Weber, entrepreneur and successful leader of a manufacturing company, expands Weber Showcase and Fixture Company into the world of third party warehousing and distribution and the company is officially incorporated. 

Given the demand from the food industry at the time, Weber’s first warehouse facility was a food storage warehouse that stored bags of salt, sugar, and flour.  The location was in a converted factory building in Los Angeles, centrally located only a few blocks from the downtown center of Los Angeles.

 

Soon after, the Weber operation expanded its service offering from just storing product to both storing and distributing packaged food items to grocery stores. It also added a fleet of trucks and began delivering the goods it stored. This business model remained stable for the next 40 years.

1961 Weber makes its first high profile acquisition by purchasing 35 additional trucks for its transportation fleet.

1964  The company is acquired by founder Karl Weber’s son, Nick Weber, who had been the firm’s Vice President and General Manager since 1961.

1967 The corporation name is formally changed to Weber Truck and Warehouse.

1968  Weber acquires A and A Transfer and Storage Inc., of Maywood, California, whose operations had consisted of hauling store fixtures from Los Angeles throughout California and to Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico.

Weber operated its family business from its original location for over 40 years before relocating south of Los Angeles and starting on an expansion that, for the first time, brought Weber national recognition as the premier West Coast logistics provider.              

1969  Weber Truck and Warehouse moves to a new 76,000 square foot warehouse in Vernon, California, the industrial center of Los Angeles, to establish corporate and operational headquarters.

  

Expansion becomes necessary as the company grows as a provider of warehouse and transportation services to the food, chemical, and consumer goods industry.  The company opens up an additional 200,000 square foot facility in Vernon, California.   

1979  The company expands its Los Angeles region presence by opening up a 203,000 square foot distribution center in La Mirada, California.

1980  Weber outgrows its Vernon Corporate headquarters and moves its corporate office to a 125,000 square foot facility in Commerce, California.

1981  The company expands its geographic presence on the West Coast by opening up a 103,000 square foot San Diego facility.

1989  Weber signs a contract with the U.S. Military to serve the military commissaries.  The company becomes known as the leading provider of warehouse and distribution services to the government sector, including all food distribution that served the U.S. Military in the Western United States and the Far East.

In order to grow its presence in the chemical market, Weber purchases a 212,000 square foot Distribution Facility in Santa Fe Springs, California.  The facility has an in-rack sprinkler system, as well as flammable, poison-toxic, oxidizer, and corrosive rooms.

As growth continues in the Southern California region, Weber moves its corporate offices from Commerce to Santa Fe Springs. 

1991  Weber expands its Southern California geographic presence by opening its first distribution center in the Inland Empire, a 275,000 square foot facility in Rancho Cucamonga, California.  This facility is a DC hub for the Military division.

1992  Weber acquires competitor World Distribution Centers (WDC), a leading warehouse provider to the consumer goods industry. This acquisition expands its Southern California market presence by an additional 185,000 square feet.

Weber obtains permit approval and begins a two-year project to expand its Santa Fe Springs chemical facility by an additional 30,000 square feet in order to accommodate additional storage needs for flammable products. 

1993  Weber expands its Los Angeles region presence by obtaining a 180,000 square foot facility in Norwalk, California. This facility is within two miles of its Santa Fe Springs and La Mirada locations.

Weber runs a 400,000 square foot contract operation in Chino, California for Zellerbach Paper, an international paper company.

1994 Weber sells off its military division and shifts its focus to serving public and privately-held companies.

Weber is selected to run contract operations for Dunlop Tires for the Western United States in Ontario, California.

1997  Weber expands its Los Angeles region presence by completing the acquisition of a second Norwalk facility. This 180,000 square foot facility is next door to the current Norwalk facility. 

In the same year, Weber is selected to run contract operations of a 128,000 square foot facility in Lathrop, California for Best Foods, the maker of mayonnaise and other sandwich spreads.

1998  Weber expands its locations into Las Vegas when Ocean Spray builds a 300,000-square-foot Las Vegas DC about two miles from its bottling plant. Ocean Spray selects Weber to run all operations, including receiving, put-away, picking, returns, repack, consolidation, shipping and drop-trailer management.  

Weber signs a contract with Vons (Safeway) to operate a facility in Henderson, Nevada. This facility supports all of the warehouse and distribution needs for Vons’ Las Vegas region.

1999  The company officially changes its name from Weber Truck and Warehouse to Weber Distribution, LLC.

2000  Weber works with Mitsui Bussan Logistics Inc. to inventory, package and deliver over nine million units of perishable foods and quick turnaround products a month to 1367 7-Eleven stores. The new distribution centers are based in Fremont, California; Burlington, New Jersey; Aberdeen and Capitol Heights, Maryland; and Franconia, Virginia.

Weber is selected to run a dedicated 373,000 square foot operation for Hain Food Group, Inc. in Ontario, California, solidifying Weber’s growing expertise in running contract operations.

2002  Weber expands its West Coast presence by opening up its second Northern California facility in San Leandro, California.

2004  In order to support the expanding needs of its transportation customers, Weber opens a 140,000 square foot cross-dock facility in La Mirada, California that operates 24 hours a day. This brings Weber’s presence in the Los Angeles region to over 1,000,000 square feet and 2,000,000 square feet on the West Coast.

As demand for the Inland Empire region increases, Weber opens a 212,000 square foot facility in Rancho Cucamonga. This brings Weber’s presence in the area to over 500,000 square feet. 

2005  Weber opens a 303,000 square foot facility in Fontana, California to serve California Innovations, the world’s leading provider of cooler bags.

2006  Weber purchases TaB Warehouse and Distribution Co., a leading 3PL to the confectionery industry. Through the purchase of TaB, Weber adds nearly a million square feet of warehousing space in Southern and Northern California, Arizona, and Washington. The acquisition also substantially increases Weber’s freight volumes. To service the increase in freight, Weber announces the purchase of 200 new trailer units, including 135 temperature-controlled units.

2007  Weber opens a new service center hub located in Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon to meet its customers’ increasing needs for both less-than-load trucking and cross-docking services in the Pacific Northwest.

2008   As part of its expanding distribution network in the Inland Empire, Weber leases 564,000 square feet in Redlands, California. Weber provides food and retail customers, including Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and Elmer’s Products Inc., with ambient storage as well as transportation and distribution services.

 

Weber signs an agreement with Applica Consumer Products, North America’s leading marketer and distributor of a broad range of branded small household appliances, for contract operations of their 993,986 Redlands, California facility.

Weber Distribution now operates over 4,200,000 square feet of warehouse space on the West Coast.

Media Contact:

Melissa Bradley

bradleycomm@frontiernet.net

928-854-1721