C.H. Robinson brings 150 jobs to Des Plaines

C.H. Robinson, a global logistics provider, Tuesday said it will bring about 150 jobs to Des Plaines.

The company signed a seven-year lease for a 235,000-square-foot commercial office building and warehouse at 333 Howard Ave. in Des Plaines. The office is expected to open in early 2016.

"Chicago is one of the most important markets in our global shipping network, thanks to its connectivity to rail, ocean shipping, truck transportation and one of the world's leading airports," Mike Short, president of global forwarding, at C.H. Robinson, said in a statement. "This move will enable our customers to have better access to these transportation options, and will position our company to build on our decade of rapid expansion in Chicago."

The Des Plaines deal comes on the heels of the company's announcement that it will build a three-story, 207,000-square-foot office building in Lincoln Park in Chicago that will house more than 1,000 employees.

C.H. Robinson, based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, will celebrate its 100th anniversary of operations in the city next year. The company has roughly doubled its Chicago-based head count since 2005, and its nearly 2,000 Chicago employees account for almost 15 percent of its global workforce.

The Des Plaines facility will serve as a hub for both North American and international freight consolidation operations. Through C.H. Robinson's freight consolidation services, companies that book less-than-full loads of freight on trucks, ships and airplanes have their shipments packaged with other loads to create efficiencies in the supply chain, the company said.

C.H. Robinson's Global Forwarding division helps customer's ship commercial freight internationally via its network of transportation providers. The division has more than 3,200 employees in 100 offices in more than 30 countries.