One of the nation's largest suppliers of recycled and remanufactured auto parts is building a self-service location in Chattanooga on a 30-acre site.
A building already is up off Workman Road in Alton Park and a large tract has been cleared to make way for the facility, said Todd Chesebro, marketing manager for LKQ Pick Your Part.
An LKQ Pick Your Part store is shown.Plans are to employ 15 full-time employees and a handful of part-timers after the salvage yard location opens later this year, said Chesebro about the company that's a division of Chicago-based LKQ Corp.
LKQ is a Fortune 500 company and its revenues surpassed $6.7 billion in 2014.
The company is slated to bring in an inventory of late-model vehicles, from 1998 to 2006, where customers can obtain recycled auto parts, he said.
"We're buying cars from insurance companies, tow companies," Chesebro said. "We buy from various sources. We're starting to build inventory."
Patrons can bring their own tools and put a vehicle on stands if need be, he said.
"They pull parts they might need," Chesebro said.
How much LKQ is investing in the project wasn't immediately known.
Efforts to place such a business in the area goes back to 2012.
"If this is the winning proposal, there will be jobs in Alton Park," said Dan Thornton, the city's then-director of general services, at a public hearing at the time about efforts to prep the area.
Chesebro said LKQ is looking to grow in addition to its 65 locations across the country. The company already is in Nashville and Memphis, he said.
"We want to be a positive impact to the community," Chesebro said, adding that it takes abandoned vehicles off the road and puts them in a recycle program. "The Chattanooga customer base is big enough."
LKQ bills itself as North America's largest provider of alternative collision auto parts, and a top provider of recycled and remanufactured mechanical parts including engines and transmissions.
LKQ is also a key distributor and marketer of specialty aftermarket equipment and accessories in North America. LKQ additionally operates in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Taiwan.
The company has more than 570 facilities, offering customers a range of replacement systems, components, equipment, and parts to repair and accessorize automobiles, trucks, recreational and performance vehicles.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.