Friday, December 24, 2004

Camping World will soon move its distribution center from Three Springs Road in Bowling Green to a warehouse at Interstate 65 Exit 6 in Franklin.

There will be no layoffs among the several dozen employees affected by the move, said David Garvin, founder and current board member of Camping World.

In fact, the company plans on doing some hiring as it expands operations in its larger building, he said.

We wanted to stay in Kentucky, Garvin said. Its a very good move for Simpson County, because it gives them a clean, low-impact place with good jobs.

Camping World is already ordering new fixtures for the facility, and will be moved and ready to ship merchandise from the new location in February, he said.

Franklin Mayor Jim Brown said that he first talked with Camping World about the prospective move on Nov. 24. On Dec. 18, he said that a company was considering moving to Franklin, and that the announcement would probably come within a month. At the Dec. 20 city commission meeting, Brown said that the deal was imminent, but withheld Camping Worlds name at the companys request.

Were certainly elated that they would choose our community, and look forward to steady growth with them, he said Thursday.

About 80 jobs will move, said Dennis Griffin, economic developer for the Franklin-Simpson Industrial Authority.

We are helping with some initial things: parking and fencing, he said. But I think the main incentive is the availability of the building, and also the location here in Franklin, right off the interstate.

The current distribution center encloses 120,000 square feet, Garvin said. The new building in Sanders East Industrial Park is more than twice as large.

Camping World will lease 175,000 square feet for now, with an option to take over the rest within three years, he said.

The company has outgrown its Three Springs Road building, Garvin said. Last year there were sometimes 60 tractor-trailers backed up waiting to unload or load there, he said.

Garvin is an owner of Camping Worlds current building, but pushed for the move although its costing him a tenant, he said. The old building will be available for sublease for about a year.

The distribution center serves Camping World stores in the eastern three-quarters of the United States, and handles all the companys mail-order business, Garvin said. The company now operates close to three dozen stores.

Were opening more stores, he said. Growth is pretty good were maybe going to open as many as 10 new stores next year.  Daily News ·813 College St. ·PO Box 90012 ·Bowling Green, KY ·42102 ·270-781-1700