Great Basin Trucks Inc. is scheduled to break ground next month on a new $6 million dealership that will include an enclosed showroom for its Volvo and GMC heavy and medium duty trucks.
Eric C. Jackson, chief executive officer, said the facility will be built on 15 acres at the southwest corner of the intersection of 2100 South and the Bangerter Highway in West Valley City. Completion is expected by early next year.Architect is John Wilhite. General contractor is Furst Construction, Salt Lake City.
The new facility will replace the current Great Basin dealership at 2800 S. 300 West. That complex of four buildings on five acres was built in 1962 and acquired by Jackson, Great Basin's majority shareholder, in 1977. He said the current site will be subleased to a similar business or sold outright.
Great Basin also operates dealerships in El Paso, Albuquerque, Phoenix and Boise with a total of 500 employees.
Jackson said the company will have sales of $200 million this year, making it the largest Volvo truck dealer in the world and one of the largest General Motors truck dealers in North America.
"We have grown tremendously since I bought the business in 1977," said Jackson. "Volvo is now the No. 2 truck builder in the world and No. 1 under a single distribution name." Mercedes-Benz is the largest but builds its trucks under the Freightliner name.
Jackson noted that all of the trucks sold at Great Basin are manufactured in the United States and delivered through Volvo GM Heavy Truck Corp., a $2 billion company based in Greensboro, N.C. Volvo owns 87 percent of the company and GM 13 percent.
Volvo is investing an additional $500 million in its North American operation to expand and build new products for the U.S. markets and to help dealers build new facilities, such as Great Basin's.
In addition to sales, the new Great Basin facility will have parts, service and a body shop.