1A Auto, an online aftermarket auto parts retailer, has selected Jacksonville as the site for its Southeast U.S. distribution operations.
The Massachusetts-based company will open an 86,800-square-foot warehouse near JAXPORT’s Blount Island Marine Terminal in the first quarter of 2021, creating 30 new jobs initially, according to JAXPORT.
1A Auto hopes to grow to its Jacksonville jobs base to 100 with the first few years.
“Our new facility’s proximity to JAXPORT, the rail, the airport and the UPS Sort Center, makes Jacksonville an excellent logistics location for retail and ecommerce in particular,” said 1A Auto Head of Logistics Rich Higgins in an email to WJCT News. “We’re able to reach virtually 100 percent of our customers in Florida overnight from Jacksonville, which was a real selling point for us.”
Founded in 1999 by Rick Green out of a family garage, 1A Auto has grown into one of the nation’s largest suppliers of aftermarket auto parts.
The company caters to do-it-yourselfers by offering thousands of how-to videos to help shadetree mechanics complete their own auto repairs.
“JAXPORT’s efficiencies and strategic location continue to attract some of the biggest names in ecommerce. Every time a company opens a new distribution or fulfillment center here, it creates local jobs throughout the supply chain,” said JAXPORT CEO Eric Green.
