by FS Solutions Team, on Jul 28, 2016 12:00:00 PM
Expansion supports growth, improves capabilities
LEEDS, ALA. (July 27, 2016) – Federal Signal Corporation’s (NYSE: FSS) Environmental Solutions Group today announced the completion of the expansion of the FS Solutions service center in the Birmingham suburb of Leeds, Ala., through the acquisition of available property directly across the street from the current location. The expansion includes a fully functional truck dock and a state-of-the-art parts and accessories manufacturing department complete with overhead cranes.
The acquired property now houses all operations related to parts, Jetstream support, blower rebuild, shipping and receiving. Fabrication capabilities for Guzzler parts are also included. This frees up four bays in the existing facility previously used for parts and blower rebuild operations.
“Expanding the Leeds facility reaffirms our commitment to increasing product, service, training and rental offerings to industrial cleaning contractors and other industry professionals in the southeast,” said Craig Aspinall, general manager, FS Solutions. “With the expansion, our total warehouse square footage is now five times larger and includes three loading docks. Our order-to-ship time has improved significantly since moving into the new warehouse, allowing us to better ensure that we have what is needed to keep our customers’ businesses running smoothly. This will result in industry leading availability of vacuum truck, hydro and air excavation and waterblasting rentals, parts and accessories.”
The FS Solutions center is supported by a professional staff with a combined 180 years of industry expertise in engineering and management. The current location stocks high performance Guzzler, Vactor HXX and Jetstream parts and accessories, as well as parts and accessories for most other makes and models of vacuum trucks and waterblasters. Rentals, used equipment sales, refurbishing and major component rebuilding services are also available.
According to Jerry Richards, facility manager for the Leeds FS Solutions center, the company reviewed and evaluated a number of alternative means to expand capacity, including expanding the current facility and build-to-suit options on the existing property and on a nearby site.
“Our recommendation was to lease the former Hayes Target facilities located directly across the street from our existing site,” Richards said. “The 30,000-square-foot facility was built in the late 1960’s and had been vacant for a considerable length of time. This facility has since been completely rebuilt.”
The additional space, which includes a loading dock, improves overall efficiency of inventory handling, shipping, receiving and pulling of parts by 25 percent.
Custom builds
The FS Solutions center in Leeds also offers a custom build program. Experienced engineering staff provides solutions to many customer application needs. Recent builds include dual pump liquid ring units on the Guzzler Classic industrial vacuum loader platform, self-contained trailer-mounted hydro excavators and low-profile Guzzler vacuum loaders.
Blower rebuild operations
The relocated blower rebuild shop improves service flow of disassembly, cleaning, interim storage, machining and final clean assembly, increasing efficiency and capacity without adding personnel. The new blower rebuild shop also provides for cleaner assembly and faster turnaround for customer repairs.
Jetstream operations
Moving the Jetstream parts, accessories and rentals to the same location as the customer pickup location for parts provides proper and efficient storage and enhances the quality of service to the customer. This also reduces the amount of labor needed to prepare a unit for rental. Access to a loading dock to pull units off the delivery trailer helps improve safety and reduce unloading time.
“We’re creating a true one-stop shop for our Jetstream customers in Leeds,” Aspinall said. “Customers now have a complete test, repair and maintenance shop within the new facility.”
With nearly 100 years of collective experience in industrial vacuum loading, vacuum excavation and industrial high-pressure waterblasting, FS Solutions offers unsurpassed expertise and a unique breadth of product lines and trusted brands to meet the needs of industrial cleaning contractors and other industry professionals.
Additional FS Solutions centers are located in Long Beach, Calif.; Streator, Ill.; Highland, Ind.; Gonzales, La.; New Brunswick, N.J.; Williston, N.D.; Toledo, Ohio; Lexington, S.C.; La Porte, Texas; Midland, Texas; and Tacoma, Wash.
To contact the FS Solutions center in Leeds, Ala., please call 1-800/822-8785. For more information about products and services available from the FS Solutions centers, or to find the nearest location, please visit www.fssolutionsgroup.com.
Federal Signal’s Environmental Solutions Group is a leading provider of a full range of Elgin street sweepers; Guzzler industrial vacuum trucks; Jetstream high-performance waterblasting equipment; Vactor sewer cleaners and vacuum excavators; and Westech vacuum trucks for commercial, municipal and industrial customers. The Environmental Solutions Group also includes Joe Johnson Equipment, a leading Canadian-based distributor of maintenance equipment for municipal and industrial markets, and FS Solutions, which offers unsurpassed expertise and a unique breadth of environmental cleaning equipment, parts, rental, service and training to meet the needs of vacuum excavation and industrial cleaning professionals.
Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE:FSS) provides products and services to protect people and our planet. Founded in 1901, Federal Signal is a leading global designer and manufacturer of products and total solutions that serve municipal, governmental, industrial and commercial customers. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., with manufacturing facilities worldwide, the Company operates two groups: Environmental Solutions and Safety and Security Systems. For more information on Federal Signal, visit: www.federalsignal.com.
Photos
The expansion of the FS Solutions service center in the Birmingham suburb of Leeds, Ala., has been completed through the acquisition of available property directly across the street from the current location. The acquired 30,000-square-foot property houses all operations related to parts, Jetstream support, blower rebuild, shipping and receiving. Fabrication capabilities for Guzzler parts are also included.
FS Solutions offers unsurpassed expertise and a unique breadth of product lines and trusted brands to meet the needs of industrial cleaning contractors and other industry professionals.
Expanding the Leeds facility reaffirms FS Solutions’ commitment to increasing product, service, training and rental offerings to industrial cleaning contractors and other industry professionals in the southeast.
The additional space, which includes a loading dock, improves overall efficiency of inventory handling, shipping, receiving and pulling of parts by 25 percent.
The total warehouse square footage at the FS Solutions center in Leeds is now five times larger. The order-to-ship time has improved significantly since moving into the new warehouse.