In Texas, the saying is, “Things are bigger.” Nothing could be more accurate to the growing automotive market in the Lone Star state.
In 2012-2013 one of our Network partners’ sales in Texas grew significantly from the previous year. Much of that success can be attributed to the increasing number of dealerships with expanding parts and service departments. This case study highlights three such dealership installations which had similar, and in some cases very different storage needs.
The first installation was at Mercedes Benz of Boerne, TX. They needed to store over 500 tires in a very tight space and still have leftover space for bulk storage such as bumpers and miscellaneous merchandise around the dealership. Solution; A 10′ high mezzanine which uses 3 levels for tire storage.
Mercedes dealerships typically require everything painted Autohaus Blue which was not a problem for our partner who provided the mezzanine materials. Bar-grated flooring was installed to aid in fire suppression and promote airflow.
The second instalation challenge was Cavender GMC of San Antonio, TX. Having recently built a brand new building for their growing GMC brand, Cavender had many needs to complete their parts storage area. Luckily they had 10,000 sq. feet of storage available on both an upper and lower level – which allowed them many options.
Cavendar chose to include a freight lift, HD drawer units for small parts storage and an upstairs full of open steel shelving for all of their hanging parts, body panels, sheet metal and moldings. This was a turnkey installation with all products installed by or partners installer. The Mezzanine was concrete which will allow for easy changes to the layout if future growth should require it.
Our final installation involved Howdy Honda of Austin, TX. Howdy Honda, like many realizing the profit potential in parts and service, built a separate body shop as part of their growing operation. The shop had approximately 7,130 square feet of storage above it. One of Howdy’s major needs was storage for bumper covers, which are easily damaged and are expensive to replace. Howdy ordered B-Span Bumper Racks which were able to accomodate over 200 bumpers, and they anticipate an order for more as they continue to grow.
Tires, hanging parts, hoods, doors, sheet metal and medium to large bulky parts were also stored in the space using a combination of open steel shelving and various steel storage equipment. Wire Decking was used to comply with all fire suppression codes. With their new storage in place Howdy Honda is properly equipped to accommodate years of solid business with steady growth.
All parts departments have unique needs and our ISDA network partners are sure to have automotive storage solutions for them all.
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