Sterling Lumber Company celebrates grand opening at new site

SSMMA, CSEDC, Illinois DCEO, IDOT, Cook County and other officials joined Sterling Lumber Company as they celebrated an official grand opening Dec. 20, 2013 at their new 600,000 square-foot facility in Phoenix and Harvey. They had all worked to coordinate resources for Sterling to consolidate three manufacturing plants from Blue Island, Gary and Joliet into one 60-acre site that sits along three rail lines. This new venture secured 117 existing jobs and is expected to add another 50 new jobs over the next 24 months. Sterling Lumber provides portable and temporary roads and work platforms throughout North America, and offers customers solutions to their matting needs. Sterling Lumber has two divisions: catering to the steel service centers and mills of Northwest Indiana and the other division in the Chicagoland area that handles their blocking lumber, dunnage (loose materials used to support and protect cargo in a ship’s hold or padding in a shipping container), and premade skid and crating needs.