WOODHAVEN, Mich. (Sept. 1, 2006) — Belle Tire Distributors Inc. is moving its headquarters to a larger, 306,000-sq.-ft. building in Allen Park, Mich., that was formerly a Frito-Lay potato chip plant.
The new headquarters, about a mile away from the current corporate offices, is slated to be ready for Belle Tire by the end of October, said Jim Morris, president of Woodhaven-based J.G. Morris Jr. Inc., the contractor renovating the site.
Jeff Kruse, Belle Tire´s vice president, said the dealership will use roughly half of the building for warehouse space and offices and likely lease the remaining half.
Belle Tire plans to install a state-of-the-art, computerized tire racking system in the new headquarters to cut the amount of time spent on loading and unloading trucks, Mr. Morris said. The current headquarters will be converted into a commercial tire distribution center.
Belle Tire's contract with J.G. Morris is valued at $2.5 million, according to Mr. Morris. Construction began March 15, shortly after Belle Tire closed on its purchasing agreement with PepsiCo.,on the Frito Lay factory, which closed in 2004.
Belle Tire operates about 80 stores in Michigan and Ohio.