‘Dream’ Location

By Jason M. Reynolds, Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn.

Jan. 4–RINGGOLD, Ga. — A West Georgia family liked Ringgold’s visibility from Interstate 75 so much it spent $1.3 million to open a used tractor-trailer truck dealership.

“I-75 is the top truck interstate in the Southeast,” said Ronnie Jordan, president-owner of Jordan Truck Sales Inc. “I’ve done a lot of business in the Chattanooga area over the years, and I’ve always thought I’d love to have a truck dealership there. It was a dream come true.”

Jordan Truck Sales opened 11 months ago at the Georgia Highway 151 exit on I-75. The company is based in Carrollton, Ga., 40 miles west of Atlanta near the Alabama border. Jordan has another dealership in Salisbury, N.C., but plans to add three more locations in three years, Mr. Jordan said. The next sites will be in the Buford, S.C., and Oklahoma City areas, he said.

Mr. Jordan’s sons, Jake, 29, and Dustin, 26, are co-owners of the Ringgold dealership and often make daily trips there from Carrollton to oversee operations, the elder Mr. Jordan said. Ringgold’s interstate location combined with a two-hour commute from Carrollton made the site attractive, he said. His wife, Debra, is a co-owner as well.

Jordan Truck Sales has seven workers in Ringgold, Mr. Jordan said, and between 28 to 40 trucks on site at a time. Overall, the 21-year-old company has 54 workers and between 120 to 180 trucks in inventory, he said. The company makes $25 million in sales annually, he said.

Jordan Truck Sales bought the site in Remco Business Center for $1.2 million and spent $100,000 renovating it, said Alvin Mashburn, the business center’s developer.

Mr. Mashburn said he started developing Remco in 1996 and has sold or leased most of the land there. There is still 6,400 square feet available, he said.

Jordan Truck Sales’ clients are largely owner-operators and small truck fleets, with between 10 to 50 trucks, Mr. Jordan said. The trucks are mostly Class Eight, or 80,000-pound trucks, said Mr. Jordan, a director of the Used Truck Association, an industry trade group.

E-mail Jason M. Reynolds at jreynolds@timesfreepress.com

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