Stellantis North America officially celebrated the recent opening of a new Mopar Parts Distribution Center in Brampton, Ontario, with an inauguration event at the facility. The center represents an investment of 25.1 million Canadian dollars and will employ over 170 workers. Executives, including Mike Koval Jr., Senior Vice President, Head of Mopar North America, and Patrick Brown, Mayor of Brampton, gave speeches to commemorate the opening of the center in front of various Canadian federal and provincial government officials, Stellantis dealer representatives, and facility employees.
Stellantis invested more than 25 million Canadian dollars in the new Mopar Parts Distribution Center
“The opening of our new Mopar Parts Distribution Center in Brampton represents a significant milestone for Mopar and Stellantis and is further proof of our continued investment in improving operational excellence,” said Koval. “We are bringing the latest technologies and innovations to our facility to support our dedicated employees represented by Unifor. This new state-of-the-art workplace will improve efficiency for our dealers and customers, ensuring we can deliver the right part at the right time, every time.”
Strategically built to support Stellantis dealers and customers in Ontario, Quebec, and Eastern Canada, the 480,000 square meter facility houses approximately 55,000 parts and has the capacity to ship up to about 2 million orders per year.
“The opening of the new Mopar Parts Distribution Center is an extraordinary milestone for the city of Brampton,” said Mayor Patrick Brown. “This cutting-edge facility not only highlights Stellantis’ commitment to innovation and operational excellence, but also brings significant economic benefits to our community, bringing over 170 jobs to Brampton. Congratulations to Carlos Tavares’ company team for being at the forefront of technological advancements that align with sustainable practices, strengthening Brampton’s position as a hub for cutting-edge industrial developments.”
The new Brampton Mopar PDC is the first Stellantis facility in North America to use the innovative AutoStore automated storage and retrieval system. A state-of-the-art technology used in industrial storage globally, Brampton’s AutoStore system uses 27 robots equipped with advanced picking functions to navigate on rails built above a 16-foot-high grid replenished with parts. The robots quickly retrieve various parts from one of 43,000 containers stacked in 1,086 square meters of storage space. The robots transport the chosen parts directly to various production stations where PDC employees pack and process final shipments.
The AutoStore system significantly increases the speed, accuracy, and reliability of parts sourcing within the PDC, enabling timely shipments while reducing the space needed to house the immense parts supply. A state-of-the-art training center located within the new Brampton PDC offers 12,000 square feet of dedicated space for classroom teaching and garage space for hands-on technical instruction.
The Brampton Mopar PDC is one of 21 current facilities in North America that provide replacement and customized parts to dealers and aftermarket customers. To support Stellantis’ goal of reducing its carbon emissions as outlined in its Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, Mopar has tactically reduced the parts storage footprint in the Eastern Canada market by merging the former Montreal and Mississauga PDC facilities into one, further reducing the physical footprint needed for the Brampton PDC using the AutoStore system. “We are truly committed to better serving our customers and taking care of the environment as part of this market for the long term,” added Koval.