Terex AWP last week introduced its new Parts and Logistics Center in North Bend, Wash., to several dozen customers and members of the media.

Terex Aerial Work Platforms Thursday held a grand opening of its new Parts and Logistics Center in North Bend, Wash., just east of Seattle. Several dozen customers, media members including RER, and local officials attended the event.

The complex includes a 42,000-square-foot logistics facility and a 150,000-square-foot parts warehouse, which will store and manufacture parts for Genie booms, scissors and aluminum products.

“With additional space and room to grow, customers can expect to see additional items added to our parts line-up,” said Siva Balakrishnan, Terex AWP vice president global services. “We also aim to increase our already excellent fill rate with our improved operations."

Terex AWP worked with Seacon Construction to design the facilities from the ground up to meet the complex needs of shipping and receiving the equipment and parts. Genie units will continue to be manufactured in Redmond, Wash., before being sent to North Bend for consolidation and shipping. The company invested about $2 million in the facility.

“The new facilities provide us with the opportunity to move away from Redmond’s traffic congestion, offering improved freeway access for shipping and receiving our equipment and parts,” added Balakrishnan.

Dave Schille, director parts and warranty for Terex AWP, described the process of moving into the new facility.

“We started in May by moving the fabrication facility, separate from the parts facility, up here over a three-week period of time,” Schille said. “In the end of June, we moved the warehouse. We had 20,000 parts numbers slotted in this building; 640,000 pieces and 120 truckloads later we were here in this building. We shut down on a Thursday and Friday, got everything up here and put away over the weekend and Monday morning we started filling customer orders.”

Terex AWP president Tim Ford talked about the importance of moving forward positively to improve customer service even in the midst of the current recession. “It’s not just here, but we’re making investments in other parts of the world, in other parts of our business as well,” Ford said. “From a distribution and logistics perspective, we just opened a facility in the Netherlands to serve our European customers. Earlier this year, I was in Middle East to open a new service center in Dubai, so we can better serve our customers in that region of the world as well. And we are putting up a new manufacturing facility in China.”

Ford added that during tough times, the company needs to focus on a few simple themes: safety, quality, cash and customers. In his speech during the opening ceremony, Ford particularly emphasized the safety aspect.

“Safety is what we sell; we’re selling a piece of equipment that puts people to work in heights safely. We want to make sure that not only are we selling products that are safe, but we produce a safe working environment for our team members. This particular team that Dave (Schille) leads has really set the standard inside our organization for days without a lost-time incident. We’ve really tried, with the way the layout of this facility was designed, to reduce the potential for safety mishaps.”

The new parts and logistics facility is an important component of the new Genie 360 offerings, a comprehensive collection of customer support services, including a fleet service parts program, a new service protection plan, a new West Coast refurbishment facility and used equipment financing options.

Terex AWP is based in Redmond, Wash.