Eight months after announcing plans to build a new, US based corporate headquarters, KOBELCO Construction Machinery USA opened the doors to its expansive new facility in Katy, Texas. The company will service dealers and customers throughout the United States, Canada and Latin America from this location.
According to Pete Morita, President of KOBELCO Construction Machinery USA, “Our new building was constructed to support the rapid growth of KOBELCO excavators in North America. Everything from the design to the construction of the facility was seamless. From selection of the site location to move-in day, every partner, vendor and KOBELCO employee worked tirelessly to ensure that the project stayed on track. With an extremely aggressive timetable, we couldn’t be more pleased with the end result. Our new headquarters is symbolic of KOBELCO’s success, reinforces the company’s long-term commitment to the marketplace and solidifies our worldwide position as The Excavator Authority.”
The LEED certified headquarters is located at 22350 Merchants Way in Katy, Texas. A major design consideration centered on the company’s parts warehousing capabilities. “The new facility has a custom designed floor plan and racking configuration to accommodate KOBELCO’s exponential increase in on hand parts, ensuring timely parts deliveries to authorized dealers throughout the United States and Canada,” states Eric Hoffman, National Parts Manager for KOBELCO Construction Machinery USA.
The central location of KOBELCO’s new North American headquarters allows the company to operate on extended hours to accommodate the work hours of dealers and customers across the country. Ease of access to Houston’s airports and multi-access shipping systems will allow the company to receive all shipments from overseas at local ports and ship products to dealers and customers via rail, freight or air, depending on the timeframe and need of the customer, product or part being transported.
“Parts and service is an integral and growing piece of our business. Customers demand the best and quickest service possible so we set up the new headquarters to ensure that we can react as quickly as possible to customer requests,” states Hoffman.
Along that same vein, the facility was set up for the onsite sales and service training of KOBELCO dealers. According to George Lumpkins, National Service Manager for KOBELCO, “Our new state-of-the-art training facilities will allow us to bring dealers in from all over the country for hands-on training. Our nationwide network of authorized dealers have long been regarded for their exemplary service. We work as a team to ensure KOBELCO dealers are able to continually provide these high standards of service. By partnering with our dealers on this level, we are helping ensure their success with the product line.”
KOBELCO Construction Machinery USA originally anticipated building a US Headquarters within 5 years of its independent brand relaunch, but expedited plans to do so before the end of its first year in late 2013. In January, the company officially broke ground at the site of the new facility and moved into the building in mid-September.
“Not only will this facility allow us to continue to increase KOBELCO’s brand presence throughout North and Latin America, but it will also allow us to support the local economy by creating jobs in our community,” states Morita. “KOBELCO always looks for ways to positively impact other businesses and the general population in the areas where we operate.”
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