The new 641,226-square-foot building for Fort Worth-based TTI Inc. consolidates the company’s distribution and value-added operations under one roof in North Fort Worth.
Now completed, the new building consolidates TTI’s North Texas operations into a facility at Mercantile Center in Fort Worth. A three-story interior structure with carousels stores the highest-volume products, and 30-foot-tall racking fills much of the remaining space. Nearly 2 miles of conveyors move products from shelving to picking stations to the shipping department. Shipping and receiving take place from 38 docks with shelters and canopies along the north side of the facility.
TTI, founded in 1971, is the world’s leading authorized distributor specialist offering passive, connector, electromechanical and discrete components for industrial, military, aerospace and consumer electronics manufacturers worldwide.
By 2015, the company, owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., had decided to consolidate its operations into one new facility.
“We chose to consolidate our distribution and value-added operations under one roof,” said Bill Speer, national director of facilities planning and real estate for TTI. “We wanted a high-quality building in which we could gain efficiencies by not having duplicate processes, such as shipping and receiving.”
Leading the construction project was Bob Moore Construction of Arlington. TTI chose Moore based on the contractor’s relationships with TTI’s Mansfield-based subsidiary, Mouser Electronics, and its extensive experience with building at Mercantile Center.
“The biggest factor for choosing Bob Moore Construction was their performance on two projects for Mouser Electronics,” said Speer. “Also Bob Moore had extensive, large tilt-wall experience, and, in addition, had completed more than 30 projects at Mercantile Center. Those two referrals were a major part of our decision.”
Larry Knox, executive vice president of Bob Moore Construction, said the TTI facility is an example of advanced distribution automation in action.
“Coordinating the installation of the conveyor systems, some of which were stacked two and three levels high, with engineering of the building’s utility infrastructure was a tremendous challenge,” he said. “Creating a facility that houses such a complex technological operation is something we’re very proud to have been a part of.”
Knox pointed to the relationships the company has built for much of its success with clients such as TTI.
“We have been friends and business partners with Mercantile Partners for a quarter century, resulting in 36 superior buildings and remodels at Mercantile Center,” he said. “Our first project with Mouser Electronics was extremely successful, ultimately winning regional and state awards for construction excellence. That project established a relationship that recently led to a major expansion of their distribution space as a second project with Mouser Electronics.”
Bob Moore Construction is marking its 70th anniversary this year.
