LKQ to open self-service location in Nashville

Auto dismantling and recycling company LKQ Corp. is building a new self-service auto recycling facility in Nashville, Tennessee. Dudley Smith, a regional vice president for Chicago-based LKQ, says the facility will be approximately 20 acres in size and should be open for retail business by the first quarter of 2015.

LKQ plans for the location to house 1,500 cars and to employee 25 people. According to a report in The Tennessean newspaper and website, the facility will cost $1.2 million and will include an 11,200-square-foot storage and equipment building.

In choosing Nashville for its 72nd location, Smith says LKQ looked at the demographics of the area and the current business environment. Smith told The Tennessean that while LKQ has preferred to grow by acquiring existing operations, the company was not able to find a local business that met its criteria in or around Nashville and instead opted to build a greenfield operation.

LKQ also is planning to build its third auto recycling yard in Tennessee in Chattanooga. The company has an existing facility in Memphis, Tennessee, that is full service.