SANTA PAULA, Calif. — Vehicle lift and auto service equipment maker BendPak Holdings L.L.C. is on an expansion tear, with a headquarters expansion project nearing completion and a warehouse expansion under way in Alabama.
These projects, valued at $15 million, will increase the firm's warehousing capacity by 120,000 square feet and improve its ability to supply customers nationwide, the company said, while also providing capacity for new product lines being integrated from its acquisition earlier this year of certain garage-equipment and tool assets from Garage Equipment Supply Inc.
In Alabama, BendPak recently broke ground on a 50,000-sq.-ft. addition to the 70,000-sq.-ft. distribution center it opened in 2019 near Mobile on the Gulf Coast. This new D/C, located in the heart of one of America's largest logistic hubs, helps reduce shipping costs and allows BendPak to offer next-day or two-day delivery to about three-fourths of its growing customer base throughout the eastern U.S.
In California, BendPak is close to completing work on a 70,000-sq.-ft. expansion of warehousing capacity at its Santa Paula headquarters, which handles shipping and order fulfillment services for approximately 15 western states.
According to Executive Vice President Jeff Kritzer, BendPak has a history of acting quickly when opportunity knocks, and that policy has continued even through the pandemic.
"When we initiate a plan, we don't like to waste time. Once a decision is made, it's all hands on deck," he said.
"The idea of our first East Coast expansion only materialized in the fall of 2019, and yet just six short months later, we were already operational … and growing."
The new building at the Alabama facility will feature four dock doors, a ramp with super-wide door, warehouse space and an additional 13,000 square feet of covered flatbed staging and loading area, BendPak said. Administrative offices, a conference room and call center are also planned to facilitate further growth.
The company's deal in April with Garage Equipment Supply added car lifts, tire changers, wheel balancers, and other garage equipment products under the Dannmar brand; MaxJax is a patented car lift specially tailored for car enthusiasts and home garage use; and the Garage Equipment Supply brand features automotive repair tools and machinery.
These new brands complement BendPak's existing BendPak, Ranger, Autostacker, QuickJack, GrandPrix and JackPak brands, covering a range of products that includes car lifts, parking lifts, pipe benders, air compressors, tire changers, wheel balancers, wheel aligners, brake lathes and other garage equipment.
BendPak sources its product from factories in the U.S. and abroad, including a 300,000-sq.-ft. facility in China.