The Cedar Rapids commercial truck dealership facility at 7820 6th St. SW, is about 71,500 sq.- ft., which is about two and a half times bigger than its previous facility, says Dennis Thompson, founder and CEO of Thompson Truck and Trailer, Inc.
“Our other facility was built in the 1950’s,” Thompson says. “I started there in 1974 and it was worn out then.”
Officials broke ground on the project in November 2015. With the move, Thompson Truck and Trailer will hire between 10 and 12 more employees as technicians and sales associates, Thompson says.
The project, Thompson says, cost several million dollars to construct, houses all the company’s departments under one roof, including its body shop, service department, parts department, and administrative offices. The previous headquarters was housed across three buildings.
When planning the new facility, Thompson says managers visited other truck dealerships across the country, hoping to combine the best features for their own space. The new facility includes a 19,500 sq.-ft. body shop which can house 12 trucks, a nearly 28,000 sq.- ft. service department which can hold 22 trucks with machinery.
The best features, Thompson says, include heated floors and air conditioning in the service department and body shop.
“Not only is it going to make the technicians more efficient, but our utilities will be in a better space,” Thompson says.
Thompson said the move also enables the dealership – now located near Interstate 380 – to be closer to its competition and to attract customers. A ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance is set for this spring and a customer open house will be scheduled for his summer.
