TBC to build 1.1-million sq.-ft. distribution center in Charleston, S.C.
TBC Corp. has selected a 400-acre industrial park in South Carolina’s Berkeley County as the site for its new 1.1-million square-foot distribution center.
Construction is to begin soon, with completion tentatively slated for late next year. The East Coast Distribution Center will primarily support TBC’s wholesale operations.
“We are excited about the opportunity to consolidate a portion of our distribution network to a new and larger facility in the Charleston area,” says Erik R. Olsen, president and CEO of the company’s wholesale division.
“The infrastructure and location of the Port of Charleston complements our growth and will allow us to meet the growing demands of our customers,” Olsen adds.
The site near the Interstate-26/Jedburg Road interchange will provide access to Charleston’s deepwater docks, “which will allow TBC to receive product from international as well as domestic suppliers, subsequently streamlining product and inventory management,” he says.
The company expects to become one of the largest users of the Port of Charleston, handling thousands of twenty-foot equivalent shipping containers (TEUs) per year.
Government officials and private sector investors are welcoming TBC’s choice of South Carolina, confident that it will attract additional projects and subsequent economic growth to the region.
“This new business provides another anchor customer in the Port of Charleston and will support hundreds of jobs across the maritime industry,” says Jim Newsome, president & CEO of the South Carolina State Ports Authority.
“The construction of the building and roads will put local people back to work very soon,” notes Jim Hill, vice president of the community development and land management division of MeadWestvaco Corp., which is building the industrial park in a joint venture with the Rockefeller Group Development Corp.
“This is great news for the people of the Lowcountry and for the citizens of South Carolina,” says state Sen. Glenn McConnell (R-Charleston County). “This was a great team effort of the public and private sectors and I was pleased to be part of this team. This shows what we can do when we work together to bring investment and jobs to our state.”
“The announcement by TBC is a win-win,” agrees state Sen. Hugh K. Leatherman Sr. (R-Florence County). “It is a win for the State Ports Authority since the number of containers moving through our port will increase significantly. It is a win because it will be the first of many millions square feet of distribution centers close to our port, which should encourage other companies to locate there. And, it is a win for our dedicated workers who deserve opportunities to make a better life for their families.”
Calling itself “a tire company ahead of the curve,” TBC is a supplier to independent regional tire retailers and distributors throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. It operates Carroll Tire, a regional-oriented distributor with 38 DCs serving domestic tire dealers across the country.
The firm’s retail division encompasses more than 730 tire and automotive service centers under the names Tire Kingdom, Merchant’s Tire & Auto Centers and NTB-National Tire & Battery. It also has nearly 500 Big O Tires franchised stores.
TBC markets nine proprietary brands of tires throughout North America. Multi-Mile, Cordovan, Sigma, Vanderbilt, Sumitomo, Eldorado, Laramie, Telstar and Jetzon tires are sold through Treadways and TBC Private Brands.
Founded in 1956 in Dayton, Ohio as Cordovan Associates – a purchasing group of tire retailers – the operation changed its name to Tire & Battery Corp. in the mid-1970s, later shortening the moniker to TBC. In 2005, it was purchased by Japan’s Sumitomo Corp. of America.
TBC now makes its headquarters in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
For more information, visit www.tbccorp.com.
