JX Truck Center broke ground on a new 28,000 square-foot facility in Kronenwetter, Wis., during a ceremony with village officials and company management. The new site is located approximately six miles south of the commercial truck dealership's current location in Wausau.
"The new JX Truck Center will feature industry leading green technologies and customer service amenities that will make it a landmark facility," said Eric Jorgensen, President and CEO of JX Enterprises (JXE), the parent company of JX Truck Center and 14 JX Peterbilt locations throughout Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. "It will give us significantly more space throughout all operational areas, provide greater highway visibility and dramatically improve access for customers.
"Additionally, our service center will be equipped and certified to repair and maintain natural gas vehicles," Jorgensen continued. "More and more customers are operating these alternative fuel vehicles and we will be one of the few service providers in the region with a shop purpose-built for this service work."
The dealership will continue to be a full-service facility and represent the Peterbilt, Volvo and PacLease brands. Its shop capacity will increase to 14 bays – six of which will be for the body shop – and an additional wash bay and expandable paint area.
"Being able to plan and build the facility from the ground up allows us to incorporate numerous features that will enhance the customer experience," said JX Truck Center General Manager Sam Stevenson. "It will set new standards for what customers expect from a commercial vehicle dealership."
Parts storage will also significantly increase as will the company's parts inventory. The spacious 1,200 square-foot retail area will showcase parts and merchandise for customers. The parts retail area and sales offices will have a clean, modern appearance, Stevenson said, to enhance the overall customer experience. Additionally, the truck lot will be larger for easier customer parking and provide more space for new and pre-owned truck display areas.
Stevenson said environmentally friendly features of the new facility include:
- In-floor heating powered by the company's waste oil.
- Skylights and bay door windows to increase natural light in the shop. This lighting will be complemented by lamps that will automatically adjust brightness according to the amount of ambient light.
- Occupancy lighting that is sensor activated in offices and the warehouse.
- LED signage that uses less power and has much longer bulb life.
"These innovative and cost-effective green initiatives will improve the work environment and reduce our carbon footprint," said Stevenson.
The new location is right along the heavily trafficked I-39 and access to the dealership will be just one block from an exit ramp. "We will be ideally positioned to both attract new, transient customers as well as greatly increase convenience for our existing customers to visit," Stevenson said.
JX Truck Center plans to move in and open the doors for business in December.
