Mercedes-Benz planning Texas regional distribution and training facility
Ryan Joseph Ramos January 23, 2016
Mercedes-Benz will be constructing a regional distribution center for parts along with a training facility in Grapevine, Texas, set to be completed in 2017.
In order to boost the flow in the supply chain of spare parts headed to dealers and customers, Mercedes-Benz is counting on this new regional parts distribution center. It is planned to have a total area of 254,000 square feet.
On the other hand, the learning and training facility is a planned technical facility that will cater to the ongoing training of technicians in Mercedes-Benz’s Southwestern USA dealerships. The current training center is in Houston, Texas, and is slated to relocate to the Grapevine facility once it is completed. Some 150 to 200 technicians can be trained in the new facility each week, with an approximate 50 full-time staff.
The MB facility will be constructed on 31 acres of land, which is part of a property that amounts to 185 acres total that the city bought from former baseball player Rafael Palmeiro. The area is located along Lakeside Parkway, north of the Grapevine Mills mall.
Negotiations have been ongoing for months between the German car company and the city council.
“The city is pleased to welcome a major international corporate presence to the Grapevine family and Mercedes-Benz USA, is a true reflection of the high-end corporate caliber that Grapevine, Texas, attracts,” said Grapevine mayor William D. Tate. He cited the hundreds of jobs that will be generated by the entry of corporations such as Mercedes-Benz.
January 2017 is the expected timetable for completion and occupancy, while full operational status is slated for March 1 of next year.
