Vermeer Opens New Global Parts Distribution Center
Vermeer announces the opening of a 312,000-square-feet state-of-the-art Global Parts Distribution Center to support the work customers and dealers are performing around the world. Vermeer team members will package and ship parts worldwide from the facility, located on the grounds of the corporate headquarters in Pella, Iowa. The Global Parts Distribution Center builds on a legacy of customer support, located at the end of the old runway where company founder Gary Vermeer once delivered parts to Vermeer customers by plane.
“Vermeer is focused on optimizing this facility so we can most efficiently deliver the right part at the right time to our customers. This facility allows customer support, engineering, procurement and logistics to be co-located. They work in conjunction with our operational team members to make sure we fulfill customer and dealer expectations daily,” said Tony Briggs, vice president of the Vermeer Lifecycle product group.
The location of the Global Parts Distribution Center leverages the manufacturing capabilities of the Vermeer mile, where most Vermeer products are assembled.
“Almost 1/3 of the warehouse is filled with parts made by different manufacturing plants on the Vermeer mile,” said Briggs. “It is very convenient for us to be located near the manufacturing facilities that supply those parts. Ultimately, we bundle the Vermeer-manufactured parts with other parts and ship the orders around the world to take care of our customers.”
Three times more space than the previous building, the new Global Parts Distribution Center includes 23 dock doors, a warehouse management system and improved warehouse technology. This investment will help drive efficiency by centralizing parts storage.
“With people at the center of everything we do, this new facility helps our team members equip dealers and support customers and that ultimately makes a real impact on their ability to get important work done,” said Jason Andringa, Vermeer president and CEO.
The Global Parts Distribution Center is the second facility Vermeer has opened in 2023. Earlier this year, the company expanded its parts manufacturing footprint in Des Moines, Iowa. That facility manufactures horizontal directional drill tooling and utility tractor attachments.
As the number of products and markets Vermeer supports expands, the company continues to invest in its aftermarket efforts to meet the needs of a global economy.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.