Carquest moves into larger building

More room for more inventory is what store manager Bob William?son is anticipating when Carquest of Hillsboro completes its move this week into a new store in Hills?boro Heights.

?We?ve been needing more room for quite some time,? said Williamson, who is in his eighth year as store manager. ?Car parts is an immediate kind of business. If we don?t happen to have it (in stock), the customer gets in his car and drives 23 miles to get it.

?We?re looking forward to better-serving our customers.?

The new building will have almost double the square footage of the old store at 607 N. Ash, according to Mike Kleiber, owner.

?We are carrying a lot more inventory on parts now,? Kleiber said. ?Our sales have increased, so we thought we needed to do something. We just kind of outgrew the old facility.?

Kleiber and Williamson anticipate that additional space will give them room to add inventory, especially in the heavy-duty line.

?We?ll get a little more involved in that, as well as the automotive side, too,? Kleiber said.

The new store in Hillsboro will open ?as soon as we get everything moved,? Kleiber said.

Williamson said he expected the move to be complete toward the end of this week. There may be a day or two in the middle of the week when components of a transaction may be completed in both facilities.

?I?ve set up a lot of new stores before, but I?ve never tried to move one,? he said, with a nod to the extra work required to move an existing business.

Williamson said a team from the Carquest organization has been on site this week to assist with the new setup.

Carquest currently employs four people, he said.

?We appreciate the support the community has given us over the years,? Kleiber said. ?The reason we?re doing this is so we can continue to serve them.?

Kleiber said sale of the old store is being negotiated. He expects an announcement to be made at a later date.

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