Consultants Forum Advertise
Subscribe
Close

  • Free for qualified executives and consultants to industry

  • Receive quarterly issues of Area Development Magazine and special market report and directory issues

Subscribe Now
Renew

Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

1A Auto Locates Southeast U.S. Distribution Hub in Jacksonville, Florida

12/08/2020
1A Auto, one of the nation’s leading online-only aftermarket auto parts retailers, will locate its Southeast US distribution operations in Jacksonville, Florida.

The Massachusetts-based company will open an 86,800-square-foot warehouse near JAXPORT’s Blount Island Marine Terminal in the first quarter of 2021. 1A Auto’s Jacksonville operations will create 30 new jobs initially, and the company hopes to grow to 100 jobs within the first couple of years.

1A Auto's Jacksonville facility will be used to same-day ship imported auto accessories and repair parts, including headlights, mirrors, brake kits, and shocks and struts, from Asia for e-commerce distribution throughout the Southeast US.

“Our new facility’s proximity to JAXPORT, the rail, the airport and the UPS Sort Center, makes Jacksonville an excellent logistics location for retail and e-commerce in particular,” said 1A Auto Head of Logistics Rich Higgins. “We’re able to reach virtually 100 percent of our customers in Florida overnight from Jacksonville, which was a real selling point for us. The port’s service capabilities and professionalism on the sales side were also important because we knew we would have the expertise to assist us for whatever we needed from the logistics perspective.”

A global gateway into the Southeast US, JAXPORT offers worldwide cargo service to 140 ports in more than 70 countries. JAXPORT is Florida’s largest container port and one of the nation’s busiest vehicle-handling ports. Cargo activity through Jacksonville’s seaport supports 138,000 jobs and more than $31 billion in annual economic impact for Florida.

“We are thrilled to welcome 1A Auto to Jacksonville,” said JAXPORT CEO Eric Green. “JAXPORT’s efficiencies and strategic location continue to attract some of the biggest names in e-commerce. Every time a company opens a new distribution or fulfillment center here, it creates local jobs throughout the supply chain.”

Founded in 1999 by Rick Green out of a family garage, 1A Auto has grown into one of the nation’s largest suppliers of aftermarket auto parts. The company caters to do-it-yourselfers offering thousands of how-to videos to help consumers complete their own auto repairs.

Exclusive Research