Tire Rack opening new Nev. warehouse
SOUTH BEND, Ind.-To update and expand its western U.S. distribution operations, Tire Rack is moving its warehouse activities in Nevada to a leased 300,000-sq.-ft. facility in a new industrial park in McCarran, Nev., about 15 miles east of Reno.
``The new warehouse will be state-of-the-art with racking and fully automated conveyor systems,'' said Matt Edmonds, vice president of marketing for mail order and Internet retailer Tire Rack. The new facility will be operational in mid-August, serving customers throughout the western U.S.
``Our old facility was a `floor-stack' facility, just tires stacked on the floor and no automated systems,'' he said. The new facility is about a third bigger than the existing warehouse, but capacity will grow more than that because the automated storage system allows tires to be stacked up to 25 feet high.
The firm has four other distribution centers in the U.S., in New Castle, Del., Midway, Ga., Shreveport, La., and at its headquarters in South Bend. Tire Rack has been operating its Sparks, Nev., warehouse for 17 years.
The new facility will be the company's fourth center to install an automated system designed by logistics firm Dematic Corp. to service Tire Rack's growing Internet and catalog sales operations. The system features special conveyor belting and pushers for sorting and loading into trailers. In addition to servicing the company's growing customer base, improved capacity will allow the company to have increased inventory on hand, Mr. Edmonds said.
Tire Rack chose to move to the new industrial park because of limited space availability to build a warehouse of that size in the Reno area, Mr. Edmonds said. The firm that owns the new warehouse also owns Tire Rack's existing facility in Sparks, he added.
Coker honored for car collection
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.-Joseph ``Corky'' Coker, president of vintage tire marketer Coker Tire Co., recently was named one of the top 50 North American automobile collectors by a trade magazine.
Keith Martin's Sports Car Market named Mr. Coker to the 2006 list. Mr. Coker is a founding member and former chairman of the Automobile Restoration Market Organization and is a past chairman of the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA).
Mr. Coker owns a collection of more than 70 hot rods and classic cars plus 20 vintage American motorcycles.
Coker Tire offers vintage bias-ply and nostalgia-style radial tires for collector vehicles from the late 1890s through the mid-1970s.
Black's Tire hosts charity golf event
WHITEVILLE, N.C.-Black's Tire & Auto Service (BTS) and its RBR Enterprises racing company raised a record $40,822 in an annual charity golf outing for the Boys & Girls Homes of North Carolina.
The 7th Annual BTS Myrtle Beach Charity Golf Tournament, held June 22, also was sponsored by financial services provider BB&T Corp. and car parts distributor Carquest Corp.
The Boys & Girls Homes Charity is a non-profit, non-sectarian home for children located at Lake Waccamaw, N.C. It provides out-of-home child care for at-risk children in residential care, family foster care and emergency care placement, according to a press release.
Black's Tire and RBR Enterprises also held their 12th annual Customer Appreciation Hospitality Village on June 23 at Myrtle Beach Speedway. The event was open to guests before the United Speed Alliance Racing Hooters Pro cup event.
This year Black's Tire hosted about 3,000 guests, said Rick Benton, owner of Black's Tire. The hospitality event featured a cookout, live band, giveaways to the first 500 guests and three live radio remotes.