Immediate access to two of the nation’s prominent transportation routes and a strong and reliable workforce played a role in Progressive Converting’s (Pro-Con) decision to expand its operations inside Greater Hazleton’s Humboldt Industrial Park for the third time in less than 25 years.

Pro-Con recently completed a lease agreement with Endurance Real Estate Group on a 242,960 square-foot distribution center located along Route 924 in Humboldt. The building is within minutes of access to Interstate 81 and only a few miles from the junction of Interstate 80. This easy access to major highways allows the company to provide cost-effective services to the entire east coast, as well as offer next-day service to most markets.

Jeff Carew, operations manager at Pro-Con’s headquarters in Appleton, Wisconsin, said, “Being located in Humboldt with quick access to the Interstate 80 and 81 corridor has allowed us to be able to provide cost effective solutions for our Northeast customers from not only a proximity standpoint, but also for their warehousing, transportation and supply chain needs.”

Carew added that CAN DO was “instrumental” in bringing the company to Greater Hazleton when it opened its first facility in 1996 and that the workforce in the region plays a role in the company’s success.

“We have a lot of great, talented people in Hazleton who have enabled us to grow and we look forward to continuing on this path,” Carew said.

Pro-Con does contract converting of custom-size sheets and rolls of paper and paperboard for packaging, commercial and specialty printing at its six facilities across the U.S. In addition to this new building at 594 CAN DO Expressway, Pro-Con also has locations at 109 Maplewood Drive and 1104 North Park Drive in Humboldt. The company transports as many as 60 inbound and outbound truckloads of cargo a day among its local facilities.

Carew said he expects the company to add additional employees as it settles in to the new facility. “Our business has continued to grow organically and we continue to do a tremendous amount of distribution and logistics for our customers.”