Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. is rolling along, driving to position itself for the inevitable economic recovery.
The North Carolina company has relocated several trucking centers, including one in Fresno that moved from a facility with 17 doors to a newly-built 15-acre center with 70 truck doors near Cedar and Central avenues.
The investment is one way that Old Dominion -- one of the largest trucking companies in the U.S. -- is staying competitive, said Ron Elder, who manages the Fresno center. Old Dominion has 28 employees in Fresno.
The trucking company increased revenue each year from 2004 to 2009, when the effects of the recession caused a 13.6% slip in tonnage shipped in the first half of the year, according to reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Despite that, Old Dominion invested $130 million into its distribution network in the first six months of the year.
Old Dominion Freight Line moved into a new center with 70 truck doors on 15 acres. The previous site had only 15 doors.
Frustration leads to invention
A new Internet business in Visalia is selling sports bras and tank tops that provide a pocket for an iPod.
Wicki Barszcz started selling products through Objex by Alicia Evans Inc. at www.aliciaevansinc.com in September.
For years, the claims adjuster at Farmers Insurance wore a short tank top under tops and dresses with low necklines in an effort to dress conservatively at her job. She had difficulty finding other short tank tops that didn't ride up underneath her clothes.
She also was frustrated by a lack of places to put her iPod when she ran, often tucking it inside her sports bra.
So after months of research, she created Objex sports bras and short tank tops. The tanks can be worn as a bra or over a bra. Both products have a hidden pocket about the size of a credit card sewn into the inside. The pocket can be used to carry a house key, credit card or iPod.
A manufacturer in San Francisco makes the products, which cost between $32 to $36 and come in several colors and patterns.
Barszcz sells them online and currently is marketing them to gyms and boutiques.
The company is named after her daughter, Alicia, and son Evan.
Being thrifty
Tough economic times and a need to help the less fortunate are among the driving forces behind the opening of Give Me Love, a thrift store in Coalinga.
Five partners -- Gina Markley, Tony Avila, Tina Morris, Sherri Cadena and Tonya Warren -- are behind the opening of the new store at 222 Coalinga Plaza.
It's the second thrift store in town.
Give Me Love offers clothes, housewares, jewelry, electronics and knickknacks.
"It is so important right now for there to be places where people can get things inexpensively," Warren said. "And so far, people are really responding. We had a line of people waiting when we opened on Tuesday."
The goal of the store is to assist the community, Warren said. Already, the store has helped several families who have faced difficult times.
Give Me Love is open 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays
The recession has led to the opening of many thrift stores in the Valley and elsewhere.
In some places, a backlash is developing. Placerville, for example, passed a law last week that prohibits any more from opening for 45 days until city officials can study the issue.
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