Garmin opens new manufacturing facility

Garmin opened a 750,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution center at its headquarters in Olathe, Kan. The company said in a statement that the opening of the facility happened as it surpassed sales of 200 million of its GPS products.

The company said the new facility will double its aviation product manufacturing capacity, but it was also built to “enable growth in many areas of its business.” The company will begin to move distribution to the new center from its existing facility early next year.

Garmin said the second phase of its Olathe campus expansion will include renovating the existing warehouse into a research and development facility and office space. Once that project is completed, the 96-acre Garmin Olathe campus will have 2.25 million square feet of space, with room for up to 2,600 more employees.

“Just six years ago, Garmin sold its 100 millionth product,” said Cliff Pemble, Garmin president and CEO, in the statement. “Today, we’ve doubled that number and have significantly expanded our business to become a leader in all markets we serve. As we celebrate these tremendous milestones, we thank our customers and associates who made these achievements possible.”