Burggraf Tire Co. hosted an open house Sept. 23 for its new distribution center in Baxter Springs, Kan.
The 120,000-sq.-ft. warehouse replaces the company's 50,000-sq.-ft. facility at its headquarters in Quapaw, said Ron Thrasher, executive vice president and COO. Burggraf Tire's headquarters will remain in Quapaw, which is about five miles away from Baxter Springs.
The company had run out of room at the Quapaw warehouse and now can run more crews, Mr. Thrasher said. ``We can stock more tires. We're running two crews up there. We're able to run a day crew and a night crew.''
The new center serves dealers in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma with an inventory of almost 50,000 tires, he said.
About 130 guests attended the open house with Jack Winterton of Goodyear, Phillip Caris of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., and Gary Paulson of TBC Corp. also attending. Burggraf Tire ran seminars for its customers on various topics, including tire pressure monitoring systems and its online ordering systems.
Mr. Thrasher said 22 people are employed in Baxter Springs including personnel for a new retail store-Burggraf's fifth-which opened adjacent to the warehouse prior to the open house.
Besides the warehouse in Baxter Springs, Burggraf Tire operates a distribution center in Atlanta, Texas, which services northeast Texas, southeast Oklahoma, southwest Arkansas and northwest Louisiana. Together the two distribution centers serve about 800 dealers.
The firm wholesales primarily Cooper, Goodyear, Kelly, Dean, Doral, Vanderbilt and Sigma brands.