Custom Truck One Source, a one-stop shop for specialized truck and heavy equipment, recently celebrated its upcoming Forest VA expansion with a ribbon-cutting ceremony facilitated by the Bedford County Office of Economic Development.
“We’re thrilled to see the economic impact that has come from Custom Truck One Source in Bedford County,” said Traci Blido, economic development director for Bedford County. “We worked with this company in 2012 when it added a $3 million welding facility center and now they’re at it again.”
The company is growing operations by leasing additional space on Blackwater Road, four miles west of its main location in Forest. The expansion will add five acres to the existing facility and serve as the primary pick-up point for new equipment, with space for 75-plus completed units.
“We’re pleased to (make) this addition to our facility,” said Mark Sharman, Custom Truck president, forestry. “This expansion allows us to more easily facilitate our customers’ needs and help our overall campus run smoothly.”
The expansion also will provide a centralized display area for finished goods, a staging location for finished trucks, space for unloading chassis arriving from manufacturers – and more jobs in the Bedford County area.
The company already hired 30 people for its Forest location this year, bringing its total to 172 team members, with plans to hire more people. Approximately 75 percent of the workforce consists of production-based positions, so the location typically is seeking to hire assemblers, painters and mechanics.
“Although we have seen our workforce increase greatly over the past couple of years, we have really strived to maintain the ‘small business, locally owned’ atmosphere,” said Lauren Metz, Custom Truck’s human resources supervisor.
“We want to bring in new team members that fit our culture and are looking for career-oriented opportunities.”