SAN ANTONIO. Rush Truck Centers (RTC), the dealership arm of $3.4 billion conglomerate Rush Enterprises, is expanding its footprint in Florida and Texas while adding to its call center network as well, the company said here at its ninth annual Technician Skills Rodeo.
For starters, RTC finalized its purchase of certain assets of North Florida Truck Parts, located in Lake City, FL. Additionally, RTC – which sold 26,336 heavy- and medium-duty trucks in 2013 – opened new locations in Orlando, FL, and Cotulla, TX, while also expanding its Orlando South facility.
W. M. “Rusty” Rush, chairman, CEO, and president of Rush Enterprises, noted in a statement those efforts beef up RTC’s network to encompass 110 locations in 20 states, which includes 1,897 service bays, some 2,199 technicians, 28 collision centers and a fleet of over 300 mobile service trucks. He added that Rush’s parts and accessories inventories now exceed $190 million.
Rush Enterprises also opened its 11th RushCare Rapid Parts Call Center this week; a network designed to support expedited parts requests by regional customers in 10 states: Arizona; Southern California; New Mexico; North, South and Central Texas; Oklahoma; Utah; Georgia; North Carolina; Virginia; and Ohio.
The company added that its plans to open 10 additional call centers through mid-2015.
“Our customers deserve quick, convenient access to the parts they need, to keep their trucks up and running,” noted Michael McRoberts, senior vice VP- dealership operations for Rush Enterprises, in a statement. “Our call centers not only quickly fill orders, but will also research and find the parts needed, without extended hold time for the customer.”
Rush Enterprises also upgraded its smartphone mobile app and “re-launched” websites for key subsidiaries this week as well.
Those “re-launches” include its Rush Crane Systems, Rush Refuse Systems, and Rush Towing Systems subsidiaries, to help provide better information to customers in those markets, noted David Orf, Rush’s senior VP-sales and marketing, in a statement.
In terms of the company’s mobile app, its upgrade now allows users to search for dealerships by state, ZIP code, or truck brand. The free app, available for both Apple and Android devices, also features a variety of videos and sales specials that are updated frequently, said Karen Konecny, Rush’s VP- marketing and communications.
“More and more of our customers are using their mobile devices to find and contact us when they are on the road,” she added in a statement. “With this app, they can not only access a map to the nearest Rush Truck Center, they can quickly add any of our locations to their contact lists for added convenience.”