JOLIET, Ill.—Falken Tire Corp. has opened a distribution center in Joliet to service dealers in the Chicago metropolitan area and across the Midwest into central Canada.
The center—the second Falken has opened in 2014—is based on what Falken calls its “model” format that allows 54-percent more storage capacity per square foot than what previously was possible.
Falken opened a 219,000-sq.-ft. center in Robbinsville, N.J., in September to help improve service to customers in the Mid-Atlantic, U.S. Northeast and Eastern Canada.
“This D/C will be integral to our long-term strategy of driving down operating costs while improving service to our key accounts,” said Ron Papcun, vice president of operations for the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.-based subsidiary of Japan's Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd.
Having a presence in this market will allow greater use of Falken's fleet of trucks, improving service and efficiency to dealers as well as servicing O.E. manufacturers located in the region, Mr. Papcun said.
Falken's distribution center format has a fire suppression system that allows the company to store tires securely and safely on portable stacking racks up to 30 feet or six racks high, the company said. This helps achieve a density ratio of more than two tires per square foot of space.
The prototype distribution centers also are designed to maximize energy efficiency, improve throughput, ensure safe working practices and reduce overall long-term cost of operations, Falken said.
The Juliet facility is one of six distribution points Falken operates in the U.S. The others are in Fontana, Calif., Jacksonville, Fla., Mount Juliet, Tenn., Irving, Texas, and Robbinsville.