Valley Cartage Trucking Company Unveils New Lake Elmo Facility

Valley Cartage this week celebrated the opening of its new headquarters and logistic center in Lake Elmo.

Earlier this year, the trucking and logistics company decided to move its headquarters from Hudson, Wis., to a 26,000-square-foot building in the Eagle Point Business Park, along Interstate 94 in Lake Elmo.

Valley Cartage will move 46 jobs from Wisconsin to the new Lake Elmo facility, and says it will add 50 new jobs at the site, bringing a total of about 100 jobs to Minnesota.

According to public documents, the space was purchased for $3.1 million. The average salary of the new Minnesota jobs will be about $52,000 per year.

The business will maintain a presence in Hudson, continuing to occupy its building at the St. Croix Business Park. The company said it needed more room to grow.

“Valley Cartage is a highly successful company that has been providing trucking services in the Midwest for nearly 80 years,” Gov. Mark Dayton said in a news release. “We are very pleased that Valley Cartage has chosen to bring its headquarters here to Minnesota and grateful for the jobs it will create in this community.”

The Department of Employment and Economic Development awarded Valley Cartage a $500,000 forgivable loan from the Minnesota Investment Fund, and the company may apply for training funds from DEED’s Minnesota Job Skills Partnership.

A local property tax abatement and energy credits were also part of the $940,000 economic development package, which is contingent on job and wage goals being met.

“We are thrilled to welcome Valley Cartage Group to Lake Elmo for their latest expansion,” Minnesota DEED Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben said in a statement. “This positive move will enable the company to strengthen its footprint in the Midwest and will add new, high-quality jobs in the region.” 

It took state and local leaders working together to make this relocation happen.

“Our expansion to Lake Elmo is a significant milestone for Valley Cartage,” said CEO and President Todd Gilbert. “We are helping to re-shape our industry, and the Lake Elmo office will play a key role. Without the support of the governor, DEED and many local officials, this project would not have happened.”

The company will continue operations at its Hudson site and will maintain a presence at other facilities in La Crosse, WI, Fargo, N.D., Duluth, Mankato and St. Cloud. The company has about 240 employees.

The company began in 1935 when Norman Gilbert launched Gilbert Truck Line, hauling a team of horses from Hudson to Trempealeau, Wis., for $1.50. The company has remained in the family and today is owned and operated by Norman’s son, Jerry Gilbert, and grandson, Todd Gilbert.