TAMPA, Fla. — Tire Group International L.L.C. (TGI) is opening a distribution center in Tampa to service dealers in central and northern Florida.
The new facility is a former TCi Tire Centers warehouse located a few miles east of downtown Tampa. It spans 50,000 square feet and has access to Interstates 4 and 75 via State Route 301. It's due to start operations May 4.
Miami-based TGI opened service to these markets in 2017 with once-a-day delivery from its headquarters in Miami. It now will be able to offer twice-daily delivery Monday through Friday and once a day on Saturday in the Tampa and Orlando metro areas, TGI said.
"After the support and loyalty from our current customer base in central Florida, opening a facility in Tampa was the next move in our strategic growth plans for TGI," Willie Kramer, senior vice president, domestic sales, said.
TGI has been working for the past three months to get the facility ready, putting in additional dock levelers, reconfiguring the interior space and upgrading electrical, communications, etc. It already was up to code for sprinklers.
Perhaps better known as a distributor to customers throughout Latin America, TGI distributes Achilles, Astro, Atlas, Atturo, Cooper, Cosmo, Galaxy, GT Radial, Kenda, Kumho, Mastercraft, Mickey Thompson, Sumitomo and Titan brands in Florida.
The expansion coincides with TGI's moves since early 2019 to establish the Cosmo brand in the U.S.
TGI said Florida's COVID-19 pandemic-related social distancing measures and the overall business dip slowed progress on this project by more than a month.