ROANOKE, Texas-Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. will open a new warehouse in Roanoke, Texas, late next year to serve a 10-state area in the Southwest.
BFS has contracted a local developer to build a 608,322-sq.-ft. building to its specifications in the 150,000 acre AllianceTexas industrial development near Roanoke, a town of 3,000 near the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
The new facility is slated for opening by the fourth quarter of 2002; it will take the place of two smaller warehouses in nearby Grand Prairie, BFS said.
The site offers BFS close access to several major highways and a Burlington Northern Santa Fe intermodal rail yard, according to Nelson Miller, director of physical distribution for BFS, who also cited ``attractive'' financial incentives. BFS will lease the building for 10 years.
Roanoke city officials granted BFS $265,000 in economic incentives to locate the warehouse in Roanoke, according to local news reports. The incentives include a $65,000 tax waiver to be applied to the building permit, and annual grants of $20,000 for 10 years.
The new facility will employ 150 and have a capacity for 750,000 tires. It will stock both domestically built tires and imported tires from Latin American factories, BFS said.
City officials estimated the warehouse will provide $180,000 in annual property taxes.
Elsewhere in the U.S., BFS operates warehouses in Woodbridge, Ill.; Ontario, Calif.; Allentown, Pa.; Albany, Ga., and Portland, Ore.