Automotive recyclers are expanding their footprints with new construction to streamline processes and expand operations.
Morrison’s Auto Parts
Edgerton, WI
Full-Service Recycler
Process 2500 cars annually
www.morrisonsauto.com
After a devastating fire destroyed our dismantling facility in September 2024, we were forced to take a step back and rethink how our entire operation flowed, from dismantling to quality control to shipping. What started as a loss quickly became an opportunity to improve our layout and processes.
As part of the rebuild, we constructed a new Quality Control and Shipping building and relocated dismantling into our former QC space. This change created a more efficient flow of parts through each stage of the process and allowed us to better define and separate departments. The new building also gave our Quality Control team a more functional workspace, including an enclosed wash bay to help contain the mess and keep the rest of the shop clean.
If there’s one piece of advice we’d share from this experience, it’s don’t try to do everything yourself. Hiring a contractor helped keep the project moving forward and allowed us to focus on continuing operations during the rebuild.
Snyder’s Certified Auto and Truck Parts
Holland, Texas
Full-Service Location
www.snydersalvage.com
New Dismantling Building. This building has 14 bays and is over 11,200 sq feet. It will increase our dismantling capacity to 22 bays.
All of our dismantling bays are air conditioned, have overhead cranes, and two post lifts.
As far as advice goes… Don’t forget about the site prep. We have built several locations through the years. We have learned that it is best to spend site prep money up front, even though it feels like you are literally throwing money out into the dirt. Those that we did right we have never regretted. Those we didn’t we are still fighting and spending money on today.
Rocki Top Auto
Glen Flora, WI
Full-Service Location
www.rockitopauto.com
Here at Rocki Top Auto, we have been very busy building towards and for our future needs. The majority of our warehousing has been housed in a pole construction type building measuring 60×100 feet. We had four rows of standard size pallet racking 12 feet tall. It was pretty good. However, for the last couple of years we have found that there is not enough space for all of the engines, transmissions, and driveline components we wanted to store inside. This led to frequently discarding inventory that we were not quite wanting to scrap. Enter the new space.
In Summer 2025, we constructed a new structure to store those same part types, but this time we did it a little differently. The floor size is not much different; this one is 60×120 feet. The difference is in the construction and the racking. Rather than build a shed and then fill it with racking, we decided to use the racking for the structure. After much discussion, it was decided we would build this with 8-foot-wide aisles and cost of construction would include a forklift that was capable of working in tight confines.
Where the old 60-foot-wide shed had four rows of racking, the new one has seven. The racks in the center are tallest, and they get progressively shorter towards the outside wall, creating a line for a peaked roof. Then, 2×12 laminated beams were used for rafters and bolted directly to the uprights of the pallet racking. And, 2×4 wood purlins were bolted around the sides of the racking and the rafters to accommodate standard roofing steel to be applied as you would in any pole barn.
One important thing to note if you decide you want to build this way: The tallest uprights we used for the center (24’) have a beefier construction than the shorter standard height uprights.
This makes the footprint slightly different when using 8’ crossbars. It also caused the uprights in the center not to form a straight line with the other uprights and created an issue with our rafter system. You will want to keep that in mind when laying things out. We solved that by adding braces along the top for the rafters to rest on and not all of the rafters landed on an upright in the center.
The pros: We leveraged a LOT more space. That space is very well-lit and this construction method saved a lot of time versus conventional construction methods. Additionally, our construction cost was about 25% lower due to material and labor savings.
The cons: The narrow aisles do require a little more care. Extra training seems to be the thing with the forklift operators. Specialized equipment is needed for those narrow aisles, and that costs a bit more.
The new building has four times the storage space over what the old one had. Couple that with a very high number of high bay LED lights and good Wi-Fi for the inventory system, and we are looking forward to growing into this as our business expands in the coming years.
Ennis Auto & Truck Parts
Ennis, Texas
www.ennisauto.com
Since 1977
In January 2024, we opened the doors to our new 23,500 sq. ft. facility, built next to our original 1983 building. Growing from 7,500 sq. ft. to our new space represents a major step forward for our company.
This expansion was designed with the future in mind—preparing the 3rd and 4th generations for continued success.
We are also a full-service facility. We currently process about 900 vehicles per year.
