ANDERSON — Con-Way Freight, 3515 W. 73rd St., will close its Anderson facility in a consolidation plan that will send the 29 Anderson employees to other Con-Way locations in Indianapolis, Richmond and Kokomo.

This week, the company, based on Ann Arbor, Mich., announced a re-engineering of its operating network, according to an e-mail from Gary Frantz, director of corporate communications at Con-Way.

“In terms of impact on Anderson, it is one of two smaller service centers in Indiana where operations are being relocated,” the statement said. “The majority of our operations and employees in Anderson are going to Indianapolis, although some will be relocating to Kokomo and Richmond, as well. The other Indiana location that is closing is in Crawfordsville, whose operations are moving to Indianapolis.

Linda Dawson, economic development director for the city of Anderson, was surprised at the announcement.

“We’re very disappointed to see any company relocate,” she said. “But we understand that economics will sometimes dictate that.”

All employees were offered the opportunity to follow the work to one of the service centers that are taking over their territory, or they may consider a transfer to another Con-way location with a relocation package, according to Frantz’s statement.

“We don't know yet the exact number of Anderson employees who will accept transfers, as it will depend on their personal decisions. Those who choose not to remain with the company will receive a separation package.”

Con-Way customers, Frantz pointed out, will not be losing service.

“It’s very important to point out that Con-way Freight is not exiting any markets,” the statement said. “All customers we serve today in Anderson and Crawfordsville will continue to receive daily freight service. No customer will be left behind. The only difference is after Nov. 17, customers in Anderson will have service originating primarily from Indianapolis, but also from Richmond and Kokomo.

Economics, as Dawson noted, is the primary reason for the consolidation.

“Across the entire system nationwide, the re-engineering project will reduce the total number of miles we run per day by 124,000, which is a 5.2 percent reduction from the 2.4 million miles we run today,” said the statement. “This will conserve 4.9 million gallons of diesel fuel annually, which at an average cost of $3.00 gallon, will save $14 million in fuel expense. It also will help us to improve transit times and on-time delivery.”

It will also leave an empty building out by Nestlé.

“That’s a very desirable piece of property to put on the market,” Dawson said. “We’ll market it right away.”