Caterpillar Logistics Services, Inc. (Cat Logistics), a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., has chosen the Dallas office of Duke Realty to develop its new 750,000-square-foot industrial parts distribution center in Waco. Site preparation has begun on the 77-acre site between Bagby Road and Gateway Boulevard in southern Waco.
Duke will incorporate sustainable elements into the construction of the building so that Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification can be obtained from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
The new facility marks the beginning of a multiyear expansion and enhancement of the Caterpillar service parts distribution network throughout North America. The 520-foot by 1,350-foot built-to-suit, cross-docked building will feature 32-foot clear ceiling heights, 35 dock doors, 50-foot x 50-foot bay spacing with 60-foot spacing at the dock doors, and 15,725 square feet of office space. GSR Andrade of Dallas is the architect of the building, which is expected to be completed in early 2009.
The facility will increase network capacity and provide primary aftermarket parts support to six Caterpillar dealers in North America. Once operational, the new facility will replace the smaller regional distribution centers in Dallas, Texas, and Kansas City, Missouri, while increasing total warehouse capacity. It will process dealer stock and emergency orders as well as inbound parts.
Currently most parts are routed through a single global entry point in Morton, Illinois. Through this network modernization plan, the new Texas distribution center will also handle inbound processing of parts directly from suppliers. Services at existing Cat facilities in York, Pennsylvania, and Denver, Colorado, will be expanded to do the same. When complete, these process improvements will get parts on the shelf faster and improve Caterpillar's ability to fill dealer orders.