On a distribution site, snow is a throughput problem.
When a driver cannot get through the gate or back square into a door, the truck waits, the dock crew waits, and the appointment schedule slides for the rest of the day. That hour costs more than the snow contract does.
Most snow bids for distribution property are priced like a big parking lot: acreage, a trigger depth, and a promise to be done by 7 AM. A truck court does not work that way. It runs around the clock, it is never empty, and the surfaces that matter most, the gates, truck routes, and dock aprons, are the ones a parking-lot contractor gets to last.
We build distribution routes around how freight moves. Gates and truck routes stay open during the storm, dock aprons are cleared to pavement and deiced, the drop yard is cleared with your yard team rather than around it, and employee lots are timed to your shift changes.
Industrial property is a big part of what we already do, including a distribution warehouse, industrial plants and terminals, and manufacturing and supply yards across the south and east metro.
Request a Winter Site Walk
Walked by the account manager who would run your site. We map the truck routes, docks, and stacking areas with you before we price it.
The order we clear a distribution site.
Set per site during the walk and written into the contract. On most yards it looks like this, with the first three on continuous service while snow is falling.
Gates and the guard shack
Inbound and outbound gates, the check-in lane, and the approach from the public road, including the windrow the city or county plow leaves across your entrance.
Truck routes and fire lanes
The loop a tractor-trailer actually drives, cleared to full width so drivers are not threading between banks, plus fire lanes and hydrants kept open to code.
Dock aprons and active doors
Aprons cleared to pavement in front of the doors in use, with enough depth for a trailer to back square. Then deiced, because a sloped, iced apron at a dock plate is where people get hurt.
Trailer staging and drop lots
Cleared in coordination with your yard team, row by row as yard trucks pull trailers, so we are not plowing around 53-foot obstacles or burying landing gear.
Employee parking and walkways
Timed to your shift changes, not a 7 AM office schedule. Pedestrian crossings of truck routes get zero-tolerance treatment.
Overflow, perimeter, and stacking
The areas nobody uses in winter, and the place the season's snow is going to live, cleaned up once the operating surfaces are open.
Four problems a parking-lot contract does not plan for.
Trailers that never move at once
A drop yard is never empty. We clear in passes that follow your yard moves, and we leave room to come back for the rows you free up during the day.
Three shift changes, not one
Distribution sites start at 5 or 6 AM, turn over mid-afternoon, and again at night. Lots and walks are timed to each change, with walk crews on continuous service during long storms.
Snow that has nowhere to go
A truck court loses trailer positions fast once piles creep inward. We draw a stacking plan before the first snowfall and set a hauling trigger tied to lost trailer positions, not to inches.
Contractor rules on your site
Check-in, PPE, escort requirements, speed limits, and no-go zones. Our crews follow your site rules, our safety program is written down, and certificates of insurance go out the same business day.
Sized to a truck court, staged on the route.
Pickup plows on a twelve-acre yard is how sites end up half-cleared at noon. Distribution routes get equipment that matches the job.
- Wheel loaders with pushers for truck courts and drop yards
- Plow trucks for drive aisles, gates, and approaches
- Skid steers for dock wells, around doors, and tight corners
- Walk crews for employee entrances and pedestrian crossings
- Calibrated salt and brine trucks, with every application logged by weight
- Equipment staged along the route before forecast events, and on large sites, on the site itself
A record for every pass.
An event report inside 24 hours: timestamps for each pass by area, photos of cleared docks and walks, and product applied by weight. It is what your safety team and your carrier ask for after someone slips at a dock plate.
What happens at each trigger depth.
Our standard commercial matrix. On distribution sites, gates, truck routes, and docks usually move to continuous service from the first inch.
| Trigger | What we do | Target window | Documentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trace – 0.9" | Walk and entry inspection; deice as conditions require | Before tenant arrival | Inspection note + photos |
| 1.0" – 2.9" | Full lot plow, walks cleared, entries and ADA routes deiced | Complete before opening hour | Event report + photos + salt weight |
| 3.0" – 5.9" | Continuous service during event; walks cleared on cycle; open-lot passes | Cycle service, final pass before opening | Event report + per-pass timestamps |
| 6.0"+ | Dedicated crew assigned for duration; staged equipment; stacking plan executed | Continuous until event ends | Full event narrative + photo set |
| Freezing rain / ice | Pre-treat where forecast supports it; repeat deicing passes on cycle | Pre-treat before onset, then by cycle | Application log with product + weight |
| Refreeze / melt-cycle | Daytime inspection pass; spot deice at drains, downspouts, and shaded walks | Same-day inspection | Inspection note + photos |
Representative matrix. Trigger depths and windows are set per property during the site walk — a hospital entrance and a warehouse back lot do not get the same numbers.
Distribution and industrial areas we cover.
Every one of these is on one of our routes. Each city page lists the local snow rules your site has to meet.
- Eagan — North-end distribution near I-494, I-35E, and Highway 55, anchored by the UPS hub
- Lakeville — Airlake Industrial Park and Interstate South Logistics Park on 217th Street
- Shakopee — The Amazon fulfillment center, Valley Park Business Center, and River Valley Business Park
- Rosemount — The Home Depot and FedEx distribution centers off Highways 3 and 52
- Savage — The Highway 13 corridor and the Minnesota River terminals
- Newport — Cold storage and truck terminals along Maxwell and Hastings Avenues
- Inver Grove Heights — Inverpoint Business Park and the Briggs Drive industrial area
- Farmington — Trucking terminals and manufacturers along the Highway 3 freight corridor
- Burnsville — Industrial and distribution along Highway 13 and the west side
- Eden Prairie — The Golden Triangle and Flying Cloud Business Center
What distribution and facility managers ask.
Can you plow a yard full of parked trailers?
What trigger depth do you use on truck routes?
Seasonal or per-event pricing for a 24/7 facility?
Do you deice dock aprons?
Can you haul snow off site?
Can your crews work under our site safety program?
Walk the yard with us before the next storm.
Bring your shift schedule and your yard map. You will get a clearing sequence, a stacking plan, and a price, in writing.