Dorman Products Breaks Ground On Major Expansion In Portland, Tennessee

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Dorman Products Breaks Ground On Major Expansion In Portland, Tennessee

The new facility will dramatically increase the company's ability to serve its growing customer base by greatly expanding upon Dorman's existing logistical presence in North America, the company says.

Counterman Staff
By Counterman Staff
Published:
From left, Kathy Dixon – Member of the Portland IDB; Zach Skipper – Business Development Consultant, Department of Economic and Community Development; Chris Berryman – TVA Senior Target Market Specialist Economic Development; Sherrie Ferguson – Director of the Portland Chamber of Commerce; Scott Abbott – Sr. Development Manager Panattoni; Margot Fosnes – Economic Development Officer, Robertson County; Clinton Shultz – SVP Operations Dorman Products; Ken Wilber – Mayor of Portland; Clay Banks – Regional Director, Northern Middle Tennessee; and Denise Geminden – Director City of Portland Office of Economic & Community Development.

As part of its mission to continue growing the automotive aftermarket, Dorman Products recently broke ground on its largest production and distribution facility yet. The new facility will dramatically increase the company’s ability to serve its growing customer base by greatly expanding upon Dorman’s existing logistical presence in North America.

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The company has five locations in the United States, and has operated in Portland since 2006, where it currently employs 380 contributors. The new $55 million, state-of-the-art, 815,000-square-foot facility should open in the first quarter of 2019. Once construction is complete, Dorman will relocate its existing Portland operations to the new facility.

The new 53-acre site also allows for further growth in the future. “We look forward to the expansion and new innovations this investment will allow us to bring to our customers, and the economic development it will bring to the counties supporting our Portland, TN, operation,” said Matt Barton, President of Dorman Products. “With this new facility, we will continue creating high-quality jobs and delivering more high-quality parts to the automotive aftermarket.”

Dorman was founded in 1918 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Since then, it has expanded worldwide, with multiple facilities and thousands of contributors throughout North America and Asia. Dorman also recently expanded upon its global headquarters in Colmar, Pennsylvania. The company has been growing rapidly in recent years, reaching $1 billion in sales in 2017, and creating hundreds of new products every month.

Dorman currently produces more than 150,000 different SKUs, leads aftermarket coverage in many key categories, and continues to engineer exclusive parts that outperform original equipment manufacturer designs. With this expanded American presence, Dorman will continue to build upon its success and be a reliable partner to its wholesale, retail and consumer customers. Hiring for the new facility will begin toward the end of 2018. To learn more about career opportunities at any of Dorman’s locations worldwide, visit DormanJobs.com. To learn more about all Dorman’s automotive solutions, and to sign up for new part announcements, visit DormanProducts.com.

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Customer Service: How It’s Done

Customer service should be your number one priority, and it all starts with the greeting.

Eric Garbe
By Eric Garbe
Eric Garbe is a graduate of Columbus State Community College with a degree in Automotive Maintenance Technology. He has extensive independent and dealership field experience as a technician and shop owner and is an ASE Certified Master Technician and former Adjunct Automotive Professor. He has been professionally writing automotive technical articles and documents for many years and in his free time enjoys restoring old cars and creating custom interiors and upholstery.
Published:

This is always an important topic to discuss, because I consider excellent customer service one of the most important tools you can have to earn trust, respect and repeat business from the customers that come through your door. Whether that customer is do-it-yourselfer from across town or the professional repair shop across the street, your business depends on a solid relationship.It’s a subject that I am passionate about, and it’s one that many people are losing touch with. Whether you are communicating to someone in person, on the phone or using some type of social media, good customer service and bad can both exist. You can’t afford the latter, so this is the first in a series of topics which can and should be shared from the front of the shop to the back. No matter which role you hold, you represent the shop and yourself. Customer service should be your number one priority.First on the list is the greeting. From the second a customer walks in the door, they need to know you appreciate them coming in and how important they are to your business. First impressions are everything and here’s the correct way to do it each and every time: look them directly in the eye, smile and say hello!Of course, you can say “Good morning” or “Welcome to Joe’s Autocare,” but it should be a formal greeting and the most important thing is that you have smiled, looked them in the eye and recognized that they have walked through the door.You should always retain a formal greeting until you are on a first-name basis with a customer. Only once you have established that level of relationship is it OK to use the less formal greeting of “Hi,” followed by the person’s name.This greeting does more than just indicate respect and appreciation for someone walking through the door. Most likely there are customers both new and old who are in earshot of your conversation. For newer customers, this continues to build rapport and reinforce their positive view of your shop; they see that you demonstrate respect and treat everyone in the same manner. For repeat customers, even ones that have been coming for years, the greeting is important because the way you treat them is the reason they continue to come.And when a long-time customer comes in and you greet them with “Hi [First Name],” this indicates your appreciation for them and that you’re glad to see them as a person, more than just a customer. New customers that witness this will see that your repeat customers are comfortable enough to be on a first-name basis, another indication of the trust they have in you.

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