WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. -- BMW of North America, LLC has selected Jacksonville, Florida for the site of its fourth regional Parts Distribution Center and will begin construction in the coming weeks.
The 140,000 square-foot facility, designed to grow with BMW, will support 45 BMW and MINI dealerships in the Sunbelt states of Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina. The center will accommodate inventory for all BMW and MINI vehicles - about 70,000 different parts - and will employ up to 50 people. Most of those employees will be hired locally. Completion of the new distribution center, to be located in the Westside Industrial Park, is planned for late in 2002.
"BMW continues to set sales records; in 2001, BMW sold more than 200,000 vehicles in the U.S., an increase of 12.5 percent over the previous year," explained Hans Duenzl, Vice President of Aftersales and Engineering. "In addition, the company is in the midst of its strongest product offensive ever and in the coming years, will introduce several new model lines, including the new Six Series, One Series and the X3 Sports Utility Vehicle. And, the MINI brand was officially launched in this country in March.
"The southeast part of the U.S. continues to be a strong market for BMW Group and we are committed to providing our dealers, and our customers, with the best possible service," Duenzl continued. "With approximately 1.4 million BMWs on the road now, and the exciting new models planned for the coming years, we are ready to expand our parts logistics capabilities."
"BMW's decision gives Jacksonville additional credibility within the automotive industry and supports our view that Jacksonville is where the future leads," said Steve Halverson, 2002 Chairman of Cornerstone Regional Development Partnership's Business Recruitment Standing Committee.
"In addition to being a targeted industry, BMW is a good corporate citizen and exemplifies the types of businesses that we seek to attract. With such a large presence, both nationally and internationally, the benefits of having a BMW parts distribution center here will be far-reaching," said Kirk Wendland, Executive Director of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission.
BMW's investment in the new Jacksonville facility, which will be staffed and managed by Nashville-based third party logistics firm Ozburn Hessey, is estimated at $32 million, including $20 million in inventory.
BMW has three other parts distribution Centers in the U.S. The largest is located in Mount Olive, NJ and the other two are in Ontario, CA and Senatobia, MS. In 2001, sales of BMW parts and accessories were up approximately 15 percent over the previous year.
BMW Group In America
BMW of North America has been present in the United States since 1975. Since then, the BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales and financial service organizations for the BMW and MINI brands; a South Carolina manufacturing operation; DESIGNWORKS/USA, an industrial design firm in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. The BMW Group is represented in the U.S. through networks of 340 BMW car, 327 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle, 148 BMW Motorcycle retailers and 59 MINI car dealers. BMW US Holding Corp., the Group's headquarters for North, Central and South America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet at http://www.bmwusa.com/ http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/ and http://www.miniusa.com/.
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Contact: Martha McKinley, Business Communications Manager of BMW Group, +1-201-307-3786, Martha.mckinley@bmwna.com; or Maureen O'Connell, maureen@jppr.com, or Ilene Lefland, ilene@jppr.com, both of Jacobs & Prosek Public Relations, +1-203-378-1152, for BMW
Website: http://www.bmwusa.com/
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