Wilmer, Texas On A Roll

Wilmer, Texas On A Roll

Yokohama selects city for new distribution center

Yokohama Tire Corporation is rolling into North Texas with a 430,000- square-foot tire distribution center in Wilmer – about 15 miles southeast of Dallas – the company announced earlier this month.

The facility is expected to open August 1, will initially employ 50 people and will occupy just under 20 acres on a massive site that is home to major company distribution centers. When it is up and running at full capacity the workforce is expected to remain at 50 employees.

The company would not disclose the price tag for its investment in the project nor whether it received any local or state tax incentives to locate in Wilmer. Calls to the City Administrator asking about Yokohama’s investment in Wilmer were not returned.

The Wilmer site was selected over other areas considered, including South Dallas, AllianceTexas (north Fort Worth); and south Fort Worth. The Yokohama facility will have as its neighbors Ace Hardware, Amazon, Love’s, Makita USA, Sprouts and Unilever. Other facilities close to the Yokohama location are the Union Pacific Railroad intermodal terminal and a FedEx site.

The center initially will be used to distribute Yokohama’s original equipment tires to truck and trailer manufacturers. That will be followed by the distribution of tires to dealers for the passenger cars/light trucks and commercial truck/bus products in 2022.

This will be the company’s fourth U.S. distribution center, joining facilities in Chino, California; Groveport, Ohio; and Auburn, Georgia.

“We are always looking for ways to minimize the amount of time from when an order is placed to when we can deliver it to the dealer,” said Rick Alonzo, Yokohama’s vice president of supply chain logistics. “The new center will help us elevate customer service and give us better control of having the right products in the right place at the right time, which is a huge benefit for our dealers.”

Since Union Pacific Railroad erected a $70 million global intermodal hub in Wilmer, other Fortune 500 companies have flocked to Wilmer to take advantage of tax incentives, its labor market and its proximity to Interstate 45, I-30 and I-20. Companies with distribution centers in Wilmer are Amazon, Ace Hardware, Procter & Gamble and Whirlpool.

“We are excited about the partnership with Yokohama,” said Sheila Petta, Mayor of Wilmer. “Yokohama is a globally recognized brand that will further strengthen the business-friendly environment in this region. Our city is one of the fastest-growing in southern Dallas County and continuing to explode with growth due to our labor base, location and regional proximity.”

Alonzo said the types of jobs the company wants to fill at the distribution are leadership, operators and planners. Job seekers can look for openings at the company’s website: www.yokohamatire.com and at other job search websites.