Operations began Monday at the new FedEx Freight terminal at 28564 W. Port Lane near Westland Road.

The terminal provides a hub for shipments to be delivered locally, or as a relay hub, where freight is transferred to another truck and shipped elsewhere, said Brian Anderson, FedEx Freight spokesperson.

“Hermiston had a relay location for FedEx Freight previously, so geographically it was an efficient location for us to build a full center,” Anderson said Monday.

He declined to say how many workers are employed at the terminal. The terminal can accommodate 120 trucks at once.

FedEx Freight specializes in less-than-truckload shipping for commercial customers. Shipments from around the Northwest are brought to Hermiston, where they are broken down and routed onto trucks for their final destinations, according to FedEx Freight.

Swaggart Brothers Inc. constructed the 84,000 square-foot, $9 million facility. The company broke ground August 2010 and completed construction May 23.

More than 70 Swaggart Brothers employees worked the site at the project peak, moving earth and pouring concrete. More than 15 subcontractors also contributed to the project, said Jim Hightower, Swaggart Brothers project coordinator.

In addition to the main facility, the terminal includes a 10,720 square-foot shop and a four-lane fueling station, uncommon requests for Swaggart Brothers, he said. 

“This facility is geared solely toward how FedEx Freight works,” Hightower said in an email. “Sometimes those features weren’t especially designed for this area and there were occasions where with team collaboration ... we were able to furnish a product that was suited to FedEx Freight’s needs in every aspect.”

Every detail of the building — light fixtures, for example — is engineered to heighten efficiency, according to Hightower.

“We were able to utilize many higher-efficiency fixtures throughout the building to significantly reduce the amount of energy usage throughout the year,” Hightower said.

Origional Post

Brothers practice work ethic learned from grandpa's knee

Blake, John, Lincoln and Ben Swaggart stand at the front desk of their new office in Hermiston. Sarah Britain/The Hermiston Herald

Lincoln Swaggart remembers his grandfather, Merle Swaggart, waking him and his brothers up at 3 a.m. to go riding horses.

That early rising experience, coupled with his grandfather's willingness to do all kinds of work, no matter what, helped the Swaggart Brothers learn a strong work ethic.

"We just learned so much from him," Lincoln Swaggart said. "He knew a lot about wildlife and plants, but mainly just about work."

Lincoln and his brothers Ben, John and Blake, run Swaggart Brothers Inc., a general contracting business in Hermiston. The business originally started with the ranch grandpa Merle started in Ritter; the T-Diamond-Bar.

The ranch was miles from the nearest neighbor - so remote the family did not have a telephone until 1972. The boys were able to watch television at their grandparents' house. They didn't have a television in their own home until 1998 when the boys were gone.

Many of their clothes were sewn by mom Nancy, while dad Cecil worked the ranch with the boys, Lincoln said. Much of the food they ate was grown or raised on the ranch. It was a rare thing to have processed foods in the house.

Cecil and Nancy started a logging business in the '70s. Not only did the boys learn the ranching business, they also learned about logging, Lincoln said. By learning the true meaning of hard work, he said, they learned they could do anything.

Brother Ben Swaggart helped build the logging business into one of the most successful in Eastern Oregon, Lincoln said. From there, Ben turned his mind to a contracting business, which he started in 1998. He later brought in his brothers to help him.

In 2002, the four brothers formed Swaggart Brothers Inc., based in John Day until 2006, when they moved to Hermiston.

"We bought the property in June 2006 and had a mobile office trailer," Lincoln said of their beginnings in the area. Near where the trailer sat is now a 6,700-square-foot building with office space, a conference room and plenty of room for expansion.

Each brother brings unique skills to the business - Ben with his business-development skills; Lincoln was a carpenter and ran several insurance agency offices as an insurance broker; John used his business management skills as operations manager for the logging operation; and baby brother Ben has problem-solving and construction skills and experience.

Swaggart Brothers Inc. specializes in big construction projects such as energy, excavation and concrete work, and agricultural projects such as dairies, Lincoln said.

"We are developing new farm land on Tower Road, clearing the land, dozing, laying the pipe" for an onion and potato storage facility, Lincoln said. "We have done civil work at the Pacific Ethanol plant in Boardman and in Burley, Idaho."

Origional Post