Northern Galifornia dealer makes long-planned move

tTt"u Mtll Yeno has come a long I way since it opened 17 years ago in Arcata, Ca., doing business in a little 8-ft.-by-8-ft. building fondly known as "the shack."

In 1993, the company moved into a new 10,000-sq. ft. building and "the shack" was remodeled for the yard boss' office. Even with the additional space, however, storage and order fulfillment was a challenge as the business continued to grow.

When Tanka Chase and Laurie Vance bought the business in 2OO2, they signed an eight-year lease for the five-acre property it sits on. But growth was on their minds, so the partners also bought a parcel of land just a few miles away.

"We want to relocate in the future, but we don't really have a target date or even plans drawn for the building," Chase said at the time. "One reason is that we want to have our own place; the other is the traffic on (nearby) Highway 101."

Now, eight years later, the partner's dream has become reality. By the end of the vear. the business will move into a new building with triple the space, on property they own themselves.

"The old property was totally inefficient, and we had little drive-by busi- ness," said Vance. "Now we'll have the space to offer more than basic plumbing and electrical, so our contractors can enjoy one-stop shopping."

Chase is looking forward to more efficient handling and storage of inventory. "We'll be able to just forklift materials onto the new racks," he said. "What used to take at least two man-hours, will now take just a minute or two."

The new location consists of three separate, yet integrated, buildings: a 20,000-sq. ft. warehouse, a 7,000-sq. ft. retail store, and a 2,000 sq. ft., wood-frame office and contractor space in the middle. Green elements include an ash-gray cool roof to reflect solar heat, natural lighting from fixed windows and clear polycarbonate skylights, enhanced insulation, and gable and eave roof extensions to provide shade and reduce heat build-up.

Krauter Solutions desisned and constructed the first t\\o strllcturcs: stccl 1'r'lnrc and sicling fbr the u,arehouse . and stccl fnLmc- rlith both stccl ancl woocl sicling lirr- thc letlil storc. Warcl-rousc slonrgc is proviclcd br'-1,30 lincal li. ol'singlc llcc cantilcrcr nrcking ancl 125 lincal fi. ol cloublc-lacc clntilcvcr nrcking. On onc outsiclc wall. atklitionul luckins is pr.otcctccl bv thc rool'cxlcn s iorts. ln an arca *hcrc tvcrasc rainfall is 15 inches. covered storage wus a nrajor considclation. "Last vctr. wc -got 5t) inches clf rain." said Vance. "ln the nen locatiolt. wc'll bc ablc to protcct lnost merchandise from the rveather."

"Wc first had to rlcsign thc turchouscto acccpt 1l'tc placcrrrcnt ol racking s\ stcnrs lntl nrlriniizc lloor sl)acc," saicl Klurtcr' pr.csiclcnt Ch.is Kr.airtcr. "OLrr sco;rc irrclLrclecl thc provision oJ' thc * ulchor-rsc uncl rctail builcling. acccssorics lirr tlrc *oorlt-n o1licc structulc. nLcking systcrrs. engineerinu ccrtification ol' ull stccl strllctLlrcs. lrrcl thc I'inal ficlcl instalIation."

Another positire is that thc no', location is situated near residentiirl ilrcas. so attracting rrore drive-by customers won't be a problem.

"Our fircLrs is still on contractors. but now we can ofl'er morc lo honreotners. too." she said. "Wc'll bc able to expclinrcnt ancl bring in ne u proclr.rcts thlt will appeal to both typcs o1' cr,rstonrcls."