Ford Completes Cranbury Distribution Center

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources; Houston, Texas). Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) (Dearborn, Michigan) is nearing completion of a 300,000 square foot automotive parts distribution center on Prospect Plains Road in Cranbury, New Jersey (Plant 1062220), which will support regional parts and service distribution.

Construction on the grassroot facility, which Ford dubs a High Velocity Parts (HVP) Distribution Center began in December 2003 (PEC 07001981). Greenfield Builders Incorporated (Indianapolis, Indiana) is general contractor for the project. Completion is scheduled for the end of July or early August of this year.

In 2001, Ford announced plans to replace its existing group of ten parts distribution facilities with 21 new centers located around the country, in order to create a nationwide network of specialized parts hubs close to dealers, that would allow dealers to order and receive parts every day, instead of the once-a-week standard under the previous system. These High Velocity Parts Distribution Centers will handle dealer orders for high-demand maintenance and smaller replacement parts, such as filters and spark plugs. This is the second such facility Ford has constructed in the past year. In August 2003, the company opened a 225,000 square foot HVP center in Menomonie, Wisconsin, for which Ryan Companies U.S. Incorporated (Napierville, Illinois) was general contractor.

Other HVP centers are planned to be operational by the end of this year, or have already begun operations, in Memphis, Tennessee, Manteca (Sacramento), California, Houston, Texas, Denver, Colorado, Fort Worth, Texas, Phoenix, Arizona, Ontario, California, and Portland, Oregon. Other centers will be opened in key areas around the country through 2004.

Ford Motor Company, headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, is the second largest automaker globally, with approximately 350,000 employees and operations in more than 200 markets on six continents. Automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, and Volvo. Ford observed the 100th anniversary of its founding by Henry Ford in June 2003.