Caterpillar Inc. selects Tejon Ranch Commerce Center for new distribution center
Caterpillar to acquire 46 acres at Tejon Ranch Commerce Center to build new parts distribution warehouse
New 400,000 SF California Distribution Center will serve Caterpillar dealers and customers throughout the West.
TEJON RANCH, Calif. (November 7, 2011) – Tejon Ranch Co. (NYSE: TRC) announced today that Caterpillar Logistics Inc. (Cat Logistics), a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), is purchasing 46 acres of land within the Tejon Ranch Commerce Center to construct a 400,000-square-foot parts distribution facility that will serve Caterpillar dealers and customers throughout California and the western United States.
“We’re pleased to welcome Caterpillar Inc. to the Tejon Ranch Commerce Center,” said Robert A. Stine, President and CEO of Tejon Ranch Co. “Caterpillar is an industry leader, and as such, will be in good company, joining the ranks of other world-class companies, like IKEA and Famous Footwear, who have located major distribution facilities at Tejon.”
“With its excellent accessibility to major highways and airports, this location will ensure the rapid delivery of Cat parts to dealers and customers,” explained Steve Larson, Vice President of Caterpillar Inc. and Chairman and President of Cat Logistics.
Located at the junction of Interstate 5 and Highway 99 in Central California, the Tejon Ranch Commerce Center is one of California’s leading logistics centers. Covering 1,450 acres, this signature commercial/industrial development is already home to three million square feet of existing warehouse facilities and approximately 1,000 employees.
Caterpillar, the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives, selected the Tejon Ranch Commerce Center after a thorough review of potential sites throughout California and the western United States. Caterpillar ultimately determined Kern County – California’s Golden Empire – was the best location to meet its parts distribution needs, and the Tejon Ranch Commerce Center was best-suited to serve as its specific base of operations.
“Given its central location within California, Kern County’s Golden Empire is becoming a vital part of the goods movement industry,” said Joseph E. Drew, Tejon Ranch’s Senior Vice President of Real Estate. “With its proven logistical advantages, we believe the Tejon Ranch Commerce Center is the area’s best location, and that it will continue to play a leading role in the growth of the logistics industry within the Golden Empire.”
“By design, and by virtue of its strategic location, the Tejon Ranch Commerce Center provides clear advantages when it comes to the most important factors companies use in determining where to locate a distribution facility,” said Hugh F. McMahon IV, Vice President of Commercial and Industrial Real Estate at Tejon Ranch Co. “Tejon offers significant cost savings over competing locations. Our centralized location results in superior transportation efficiencies for distribution throughout California and the western United States. The labor pool is deep and highly qualified and employees have been proven to be productive and loyal. Further, the Commerce Center offers fully entitled land sites ready for immediate development, with ample room for future expansion.”
The new Caterpillar facility is scheduled to be operational in late 2012 and is expected to employ up to 150 people.
The Kern Economic Development Corporation played an important role in the site selection process, providing Caterpillar and its consultants with information regarding the benefits of locating in the Golden Empire, and connecting them with key County department heads who explained the ease of the permitting process in Kern County.
CBRE represented both parties in the transaction with Traci Buckingham representing Caterpillar Inc. and Doug Sonderegger representing Tejon Ranch Co.
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