Caster Manufacturer’s Atlanta area facility is now fully operational
To better serve the North American market, Blickle U.S.A. has taken occupancy of a new 62,491 square foot multi-million-dollar facility located in Newnan, GA. The building, designed and built specifically for Blickle, represents the completion of Phase One of the company’s US Headquarter Campus. The 19.5 acre site has been developed and prepped with utilities in place for future expansion. Provisions for a railway spur to service the facility have also been made.
All US operations will be managed from the facility including Engineering, Custom Manufacturing, Sales, Customer Service, Product Testing, Customer and Distributor Training as well as Shipping.
A primary feature of the new facility is the state-of-the-art Customer Experience Center. Here, Blickle staff, customers, and OEMs can perform head-to-head comparisons of multiple casters and wheels on their devices under a variety of real world conditions including different surfaces, inclines and declines, under load or empty, and in wet or dry environments. A proprietary and custom manufactured test device can even demonstrate the effects of wear and tear over time by subjecting wheels to a high volume of cycles under a variety of conditions in a very short amount of time. There’s even an outdoor test track. “Our applications experts can tell someone with a very high degree of certainty what the best caster is for their needs. But, showing them in a realistic test environment gives them the 100% certainty to make their selection with complete confidence,” said Blickle U.S.A. President Scott Chahalis. “That’s why we are committed to making this space available to any end user, distributor or OEM who wishes to use it.” The Center is equipped with an array of IP cameras so tests can be monitored remotely in real-time via Blickle’s secure web portal.
Product availability is a cornerstone of Blickle U.S.A.’s marketing strategy, so 62,491 square feet of the building is dedicated to maintaining a vast inventory of wheel sizes and caster configurations. This commitment to inventory allows the company to offer an unprecedented number and variety of products from both their Blickle and Pegasus Lines for shipment in 24 hours or less. Products in the Blickle line carry an industry leading 4-year warranty.
The building architecture is sleek and modern and the design boasts several environmentally responsible features including an abundance of natural light, motion sensors to turn off lights in unoccupied areas, energy efficient doors and windows, sun sensing blinds to reduce heating and air conditioning energy consumption, a high-efficiency HVAC system and even electric fork lifts. Ergonomic accommodations like variable height work surfaces and computer monitors, ergonomic seating, and anti-fatiguing floor mats ensure the 27 current and several additional planned hires have a pleasant, comfortable working environment.
Blickle U.S.A. is a wholly owned subsidiary of the German wheels and casters manufacturer Blickle Räder+Rollen GmbH u. Co. KG. Prior to the opening of the Newnan facility the company maintained a sales office in Charlotte, NC. In 2015, when long-range strategic planning placed significant emphasis on the continued development and expansion of the North American market, planning for the Newnan facility began in earnest.
