Falken upgrades East Coast distribution

ROBBINSVILLE, N.J. (Aug. 21, 2014) — Falken Tire Corp. has opened a more modern warehouse distribution center in Robbinsville to help improve service to customers throughout the Mid-Atlantic, U.S. Northeast and Eastern Canada.

“The Northeast market is a key target area for Falken's domestic sales strategy, and having a new state-of-the-art distribution center in this area will support our brand's growth for the next seven to 10 years,” stated Ron Papcun, Falken's vice president of operations.

“This location is the model of Falken's new warehouse design, which is capable of storing 54-percent more tires per square foot than previous locations.”

Falken is promising increased inventory and faster and more efficient tire delivery to local retailers, thanks to an expanded fleet of trucks.

The 219,000-sq.-ft. center is located in the Matrix Business Park in Robbinsville, a township of about 13,000 inhabitants just east of Trenton and near the I-95 (New Jersey Turnpike) and I-195 junction. It replaces a facility in Dayton, N.J.

“More importantly, we expect to offer a higher fill rate to service our customers in this area,” Mr. Papcun added. “It's critical our dealers know we are committed to getting them product as quickly as possible.”

Falken designed the facility with a fire suppression system that allows tires to be stored safely on portable stacking racks up to 30 feet or six racks high, Falken said. This yields a density ratio of more than two tires per square foot of space.

The center also incorporates features intended to maximize energy efficiency, improve throughput, insure safe work practices and reduce the long-term cost of operations, the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.-based subsidiary of Japan's Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. said.

Falken did not say whether it owns or leases the new facility.

The Robbinsville facility is one of five distribution points Falken operates in the U.S. The others are in Fontana, Calif., Jacksonville, Fla., Mount Juliet, Tenn., and Irving, Texas.