Kent Bicycles has rolled into Savannah in a big way, with plans to move more than a million units a year through the Georgia Ports’ Garden City Terminal.
“We have been warehousing solely in Los Angeles and were looking for a strategic location for our second distribution point,” said Arnold Kamler, CEO of Kent International.
“Savannah worked out with the best metrics.”
Kamler said the company will move about 1.3 million bicycles per year through its Savannah distribution center, equating to about 7,000 twenty-foot equivalent container units — or TEUs.
Kent has contracted with third-party logistics provider Schneider Port Logistics, with warehouse space flexing to accommodate the number of units on site.
“This new hub in our distribution network will serve the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest and the Southwest as far as Texas,” Kamler said.
GPA executive director Curtis Foltz said Kent’s decision to locate its East Coast distribution center in Savannah “will provide cost-effective and reliable access to 44 percent of the U.S. population.”
Dan Flaherty, vice president and general manager at Schneider Port Logistics, agreed, adding that Kent’s East Coast distribution center will place their products closer to a rapidly growing regional market, and provide more economical reach into the hinterlands.
“Importing into the Port of Savannah and warehousing right outside of it provides Kent advantages on transportation costs as well as speed to their key markets North and South,” Flaherty said.
Schneider is serving Kent from its 840,000 square-foot, 140-door Grange Road campus, which is located a half-mile from the port’s main gate, seven miles from Interstate 95, and six miles from Interstate 16.
“Our new Savannah distribution center, with its strategic location and flexible warehouse space, directly aligns with our commitment to fast, efficient service to our customers and retail partners,” Kamler said.
Kent bicycles are sold by major retailers, including Target, Walmart and Toys R Us, as well as such nline outlets as Amazon.com.
GPA Board Chairman Robert Jepson said when companies like Kent decide to distribute goods from Georgia, it supports jobs in the logistics industry and beyond — but it also makes good business sense for the company.
“The Port of Savannah’s location as the most westerly of the Atlantic Coast ports makes it the gateway of choice for markets such as Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis, Louisville, Charlotte and beyond,” Jepson said.
ABOUT KENT
Kent International Inc. is a privately held, family-owned American company that is engaged in the import and distribution of bicycles and bicycle accessories on a worldwide basis. Kent’s history dates back to the early 1900s when the current president’s grandfather immigrated to the United States and got a job working for the owner of a bike shop in New York. During the process of restoring old bike frames, a love for cycling was born, and in 1909, he opened his own bike shop on the Lower East Side of the city. That small shop eventually became a bicycle company in 1947. In 1958, the company changed its name to Kent International Inc. It has been supplying Kent products to parents and their children in more than 20 countries ever since. The company is headquartered in Parsippany, N.J.
ABOUT SCHNEIDER
A $3.5 billion company, Schneider National provides truckload, logistics and intermodal services throughout North America and China. Headquartered in Green Bay, Wis., Schneider National has provided expert transportation and logistics solutions for over 76 years.