Giant Joliet Success: Harbor Freight Tools Means 800 New Jobs

JOLIET, IL — One of the nation's fastest growing retailers, Harbor Freight Tools, celebrated its grand opening on Thursday for its new distribution center. The company pays its workers more than $20 per hour. By the end of 2023, Harbor Freight Tools will have 800 people working at 3401 South Brandon Road. It's one of the biggest distribution centers in Will County at 1.6 million square feet of space.

Harbor Freight Tools has a retail center on Larkin Avenue in Crest Hill. At Thursday's event, Harbor Freight presented Joliet Township High School officials a foundation grant of $100,000 plus $10,000 in gift cards to outfit trades classrooms at Joliet Central and Joliet West.

"The new distribution center in Joliet is a game changer for Harbor Freight Tools," remarked Mark Calloway, divisional vice president and general manager of the new facility. "The new distribution center will reduce the company's carbon footprint by eliminating the need to transport products to the region from either coast."

As of Thursday, Harbor Freight had 177 employees working at the new distribution center on Brandon Road. That total will increase to 800 workers by the end of 2023, the company promised at Thursday's ceremony. Harbor Freight now has 38 stores in Illinois, with four more planned for the next year.

The company said that Harbor Freight Tools has been America's go-to source for affordable, quality tools. It's a family-owned company started in southern California in 1977.

"With 25,000 associates, the company was recently recognized for the second year in a row by Forbes as both one of the 20 best large companies to work for in retail and the nation's No. 1 employer for veterans in its category," Harbor Freight's news release noted.