CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Dec. 9, 2005) — American Tire Distributors Inc. (ATD) has quadrupled its distribution capacity in Salt Lake City, moving to a 115,000-sq.-ft. facility in the western part of the city.
ATD will employ a warehouse management system at the new center that it said will improve the accuracy of inventories and enable it to receive and ship products more efficiently. The firm, one of the nation´s largest independent suppliers of tires, wheels, equipment and related supplies, also will use a computerized routing system with global positioning system receivers on all delivery trucks to permit tracking of orders from door to door.
The new center will give dealers in Utah access to a broader range of products and brands, from tires and custom wheels to tire supplies and equipment, according to ATD Chairman and CEO Richard P. Johnson.
“Our new ATD distribution center is a bricks-and-mortar example of our commitment to our dealers in the Utah market,” Mr. Johnson said. The new facility, in the Ninigret Complex, replaces a 30,000-sq.-ft. center that was located more centrally.
ATD expanded its presence in Utah and the Inter-Mountain West market in August, buying Wholesale Tire Distributors Inc., which serves 2,700 customers in nine states from warehouses in Salt Lake City, Casper, Wyo., and Boise, Idaho. ATD operates 73 distribution centers servicing 40 states.
“The combination of this new distribution center facility and the hard-working, customer-focused team of colleagues that joined ATD from Wholesale Tire makes me very optimistic about our future in the Inter-Mountain West market,” Mr. Johnson said.