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A boom in the bicycle business is fueling a local warehouse expansion.
J&B Importers Inc., a Miami-based wholesale bicycle parts distributor, is investing about $1.5 million to almost double its building to 70,000 square feet from 39,000 square feet.
Completion is scheduled for late December.
J&B distributes domestic and imported bicycle parts to retail bike shops nationwide. Brand names include Italian parts-maker Campagnollo and Japanese manufacturer Shimano. Other parts are made in China and Tawain.
The Fort Wayne warehouse is one of 10 distribution points the company operates across the country, allowing it to ensure most customers next-day delivery, general manager Ashley Richardson said.
With the expansion, the local operation will become J&B’s second or third largest, he said. Currently, the local building is the fourth or fifth largest in the company. The warehouse, at 4620 Clubview Drive, ships to other J&B warehouses in addition to supplying retailers directly.
Expanding the Fort Wayne warehouse will allow it to supply the company’s warehouses in Minnesota and Colorado instead of shipping parts all the way from the Miami warehouse, which is about 100,000 square feet. This is the first expansion of the local warehouse, which is about 15 years old.
Richardson doesn’t know of expansion projects at any of the company’s other warehouses. The Fort Wayne warehouse is already second or third in the company in the amount of revenue it generates, he said.
More local space won’t necessarily translate to more jobs, Richardson said. Local employment varies from about 20 in the winter months to about 40 during the summer, when more people are getting bicycles repaired. The warehouse pumps up its staff with temporary workers, including college students, he said.
Summit City Bicycles & Fitness, 3801 Lima Road, is one of those retailers fixing bikes and ordering parts for J&B.
Barry McManus, sales manager, said about one-third of the store’s revenue comes from repairs.
“We’ve seen huge increases in people bringing in older bikes they want to get back on the road,” he said.
Some customers want to commute to work to save on gas prices. But others, McManus said, are riding to take advantage of their employers’ wellness incentive programs.
Fort Wayne Metals Research Products Corp. is one of those local companies encouraging workers to get healthy. The company launched an incentive program July 1 that rewards employees for meeting goals related to reducing blood pressure, body mass index, blood sugar, cholesterol and eliminating smoking.
This year, the cash rewards for employees were $50 for meeting each of the five criteria. Next year, when the program is in its first full year, the rewards will be $100 per category, said Dennis Rohrs, human resources director.
Fort Wayne Metals employees can earn up to $500 in cash bonuses. Healthy workers can make a sizable dent in their annual health insurance premiums, covering the entire cost in some cases. Annual premiums are $332 for single coverage, $698 for married coverage and $1,011 for family coverage, Rohrs said.
Scott Glaze, the company’s chairman and chief executive, kicked off the wellness program by challenging his employees to ride in the 66-mile Huntington Bicycle Challenge this month. He offered $100 to each employee who finishes the race before Glaze crosses the finish line.
Rohrs doesn’t expect to beat Glaze, but in the past six months he has transformed from a “sporadic” cyclist to one who rides five or six days a week to get in shape for the challenge.
The lure of winning $100 from the boss has inspired others to dust off their bikes and get them in working order.
Bicycles that have languished in storage typically need new tires and sometimes need general maintenance, including oil, grease and mechanical adjustments, McManus said. Summit City has hired two additional service department workers to handle the demand, bringing the total to 12.
The business, owned by Robert Mann, employs about 22 during the busy summer season and cuts back to about 15 workers in the winter.
Some local riders continue to take their bikes on the streets during the coldest months. They simply wait for snow removal to be finished before climbing back onto two wheels, McManus said. The shop continues to repair bikes – and order parts from J&B – year-round.
sslater@jg.net
