“What really distinguishes us is the cleanliness of the facility,” Forcum said. “We have a lot of landscaping. Our customer walks in our showroom and sees white painted walls, coated floors, stainless steel counter tops. Our yards are organized. We have driveways that are striped.. Our bumpers are lined up nice and straight.”
The facility is being built on 30 acres and is expected to open in the spring. Part of the facility will be on land in Dayton.
LKQ buys vehicles after verifying ownership. After inspection and removal of fluids and hazardous materials, the autos are placed on stands in the yard to make it easier for customers to pull parts.
Customers bring their own tools and pay an admission charge to gain access to the yard. Employees guide customers to the vehicles they need.
Customers bring the salvaged parts to a cashier. All parts are pre-priced on a parts menu system at 80 percent of retail pricing, the company said.
After about three months, autos in the yard are crushed to be recycled as scrap metal.
LKQ has roughly 50 facilities like this across the country and also does business in Great Britain, Costa Rica and Canada. Last year, the company reported revenues of $5.4 billion.
Lucking said there has been little to no opposition to the facility.
“The area is zoned light industrial, and everybody within 300 feet had to be notified (that the business applied to move in),” Lucking said. “We didn’t hear from anybody, and when we had a public hearing last October, nobody showed up.
“I think it represents a service this community needs,” Lucking said.
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