The Atlanta office of Switzerland-based Panalpina Inc. opened a satellite office in Montgomery, Ala., on Jan. 5 to cater to the logistic and supply needs of Hyundai Motor Co.’s assembly plant that is to open there soon, Michael Wills, manager of Panalpina’s global accounts, told GlobalAtlanta.
Up to 300,000 Sonata and Santa Fe model cars are to be produced there annually at maximum capacity by Hyundai, which is Korea’s largest auto manufacturer, he said. The Montgomery plant is Hyundai’s first in North America.
Mr. Wills said Panalpina’s new location “strongly positions the company within a very important automotive and industrial manufacturing region.”
He said the company intends for the facility to become an “automotive showpiece” that can be replicated elsewhere.
The Panalpina facility, which features a 60,000 square-foot warehouse and the capacity to expand to over 150,00 square feet, will handle customer logistic services for Hyundai, while administrative functions will continue to be handled from the Atlanta office, he said.
According to Mr. Wills, the company has contracted JIT Services Inc. of Huntsville, Ala., to provide assembly parts sequencing, delivery, sub-assembly, warehousing and other services, to include foreign trade zone issues.
Panalpina has a 15-year history in Alabama through the Huntsville Air Freight Center, he said.
For more information, contact Melanie LaNata at (770) 994-2733 or melanie.lanata@panalpina.com.