Kenworth To Build New Facility

Inland Kenworth Inc., which provides sales and service of Kenworth trucks, plans to relocate its Albuquerque operation from the North I-25 corridor to a new, $7 million facility to be built at the Interstate 40 and Unser interchange.

“The location is a major improvement for us,” said Greg Sternberg, vice president of the company’s U.S. division. “Interstate 25 is more automobile traffic and I-40 is much more commercial, which is our business.”

Inland Kenworth bought the seven-acre site several years ago because of its visibility and easy access for both local customers and long-haul truckers on I-40, he said.

The company held off on proceeding with the project during the recession, but now plans to open the new facility, at slightly more than 30,000 square feet, in the fall of this year.

“While the overall size of the facility is not much bigger than what we have, the highly efficient layout will provide for increased utilization of the space,” Sternberg said, adding that the custom design of the building will improve productivity by 30 percent to 40 percent.

The new building will provide major expansions of service bays, parts warehouse, showroom and offices. It will also provide a covered write-up area for service and a covered shipping and receiving area. In addition, the new site will have room to expand the building, Sternberg said.

Kenworth Truck Co., which makes heavy- and medium-duty trucks, has had a presence in Albuquerque since the 1960s. Family owned and headquartered in Canada, Inland Kenworth acquired the Kenworth dealership franchises in Albuquerque and Farmington in 2000.

The Albuquerque operation, which employs about 40, has for years been at 3120 Pan American Freeway NE, near the I-25 and Candelaria interchange. The four-acre property is one of only two locations leased by Inland Kenworth’s U.S. division, which has five locations with two more planned in Arizona and California.

“We prefer to own our properties rather than lease and, with our business continuing to improve, it was time to develop the land we already owned,” Sternberg said.
— This article appeared on page B1 of the Albuquerque Journal