Mercedes-Benz USA Opens Major Facility in Jacksonville Florida

Multiple Operational Units Organized in New State-of-the-Art Facility within Minutes from Airport

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Jun 28, 2010, 09:00 ET

MONTVALE, N.J., June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) announces the opening of its new state-of-the-art facility in Jacksonville, Florida. Strategically located minutes from the Jacksonville airport, the new facility centralizes several business units into one building for efficient customer and dealer support.

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The newly constructed building totaling 415,000 sq. ft. is a leased facility located off of Interstate 95 at 13470 International Parkway. MBUSA plans to take official occupancy in July with four business units operating from the location including Sales Operations Southern Regional Office; Parts Distribution Center (PDC); Quality Evaluation Center (QEC); and Learning & Performance Center (LPC). Approximately 160 employees are in the new facility, which incorporates innovative environmental systems and design.

"The new state-of-the-art facility incorporates Mercedes-Benz Autohaus design that many dealers have adopted throughout the U.S. Now we have one common look and feel for our corporate operations in the region across all our key business units," said Ernst Lieb, CEO of MBUSA. "By linking our core operations in one building, we can also create better efficiencies that will benefit our dealer network and our customers."

SALES OPERATIONS SOUTHERN REGION OFFICE

The Southern Region MBUSA office supports 102 MBUSA dealerships with sales and fixed operations across 12 states including Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Texas as well as Puerto Rico. MBUSA has three other regional offices in the U.S.: Parsippany, NJ, Rosemont, IL and Costa Mesa, CA.

PARTS DISTRIBUTION CENTER

A new addition to MBUSA's operation in Jacksonville, the Parts Distribution Center (PDC) supports approximately 70 MBUSA dealers in the Southeast with parts supply. The PDC will house about 15 percent of MBUSA overall parts inventory, shipping over 1.3 million lines annually. MBUSA has four other Parts Distribution Centers in U.S.: Carol Stream, IL, Fontana, CA, Fort Worth, TX and Robbinsville, NJ.

QUALITY EVALUATION CENTER

With over 70 personnel from various engineering and logistics disciplines, representing a diverse collection of work experience and backgrounds, the Quality Evaluation Center in Jacksonville is one of only two operational units of its kind outside of Germany. The QEC team includes Daimler Quality personnel, which places engineers closer to the market and to the dealers served by MBUSA. This market proximity brings greater knowledge of market-specific issues directly into the Quality management process through increased speed of parts evaluation and feedback to Daimler development. Local parts analysis also helps to improve diagnostic tools and technical information while the resulting rapid feedback to dealers improves the diagnostic skills necessary for improved "Fixed First Visit" performance- a key customer satisfaction component.

LEARNING & PERFORMANCE CENTER

The Learning & Performance Center is a state of the art training facility for dealership and MBUSA personnel. MBUSA facilitates over 120 classes per year in the Jacksonville Learning & Performance Center, with a total of about a thousand participants from across the Southeastern United States. Classrooms, workshops, a computer lab, a virtual classroom webcast area, student lounge, offices and a cafeteria are designed in an intelligent and integrated fashion all for the learners' benefit while at the same time providing increased operational effectiveness and efficiencies. MBUSA operates five Learning & Performance Centers in the U.S.: Houston, TX, Itasca, IL, Jacksonville, FL, Montvale, NJ, and Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

"We have planned and built this new facility with cutting edge systems and design for our associates to deliver the best products and services throughout the region," said Alan McLaren, vice president of customer services. "It's unmistakably a Mercedes-Benz facility that showcases our dedication to quality and innovation in a significant way."

About Mercedes-Benz USA

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA), headquartered in Montvale, New Jersey, is responsible for the distribution, marketing and customer service for all Mercedes-Benz and Maybach products in the United States. MBUSA offers drivers the most diverse line-up in the luxury segment with 12 model lines ranging from the sporty C-Class to the flagship S-Class sedans and CL coupes.

MBUSA is also responsible for the distribution, marketing and customer service of Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Vans in the US. More information on MBUSA and its products can be found at www.mbusa.com and www.mbsprinterusa.com.

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SOURCE Mercedes-Benz USA