Ralph Curry works on the caterpillar head of a C15 semi-truck Thursday in the repair shop of the new MHC Kenworth truck dealership in Chattanooga. The dealership opened at a new location at 7830 Lee Highway.Murphy-Hoffman Co. is doubling down on Chattanooga.
The company's new MHC Kenworth facility in Chattanooga, which offers sales and service of heavy- and medium-sized trucks off Lee Highway, is more than double the size of its old location on East 29th Street, said Bobby Bethune, the branch manager.
Also, the site's workforce is expected to increase from 40 to about 80 people, and the number of service bays has doubled to 20, he said. There are three times as many body shop bays, Bethune said about the new location that had its grand opening Thursday.
"We outgrew [the old facility] five years ago," he said.
Company spokeswoman Emily Soetaert agreed that MHC Kenworth was "busting at the seams" at East 29th Street.
"We were limited space-wise," she said.
A big key, Bethune said, is that he expects business will double at the new site, a 63,440-square-foot facility with high visibility from Interstate-75 near Bonny Oaks Drive. Officials declined to say how much the company has invested.
Bethune also wouldn't give any revenue figures, but the transient business was non-existent at its former central city location, which is for sale.
"We've started seeing customers we've never seen before," he said about the new site that has been open for about two months. "Now we're very, very visible. Business is good right now."
Bethune said increases in sales are forecast for the next two or three years, adding that there's a lot of pent-up demand among trucking companies.
Many companies held off buying trucks due to the new federal emissions requirements, he said.
"They wanted the bugs worked out," Bethune said. "The equipment is so old. They've had to replace it."
Soetaert said the new trucks are more fuel efficient as well.
"That decreases the cost for owner-operators," she said. "This is what people have been waiting for."
The MHC Kenworth facility, which is selling new and used equipment, also has extended its operating hours to 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week to aid drivers.
"We want to make sure their needs are met," Soetaert said.
Bethune said the facility has a new drivers lounge, for example, so they can wait comfortably for work to be done.
"That's a big deal," he said.
Kansas City-based Murphy-Hoffman Co. has more than 90 locations countrywide, including six in Tennessee. The new Chattanooga facility is its biggest in the state, Bethune said.
MHC operates across 12 states with 58 dealerships, four full-service transport refrigeration locations and 35 full-service leasing and rental operations. It also offers financial services.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.