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Savannah Morning News

Sep. 2--The world's largest manufacturer of home fitness equipment has chosen Savannah as the site of its new East Coast distribution center, company officials said Wednesday.

Icon Health & Fitness should move into its new 600,000-square-foot facility in Crossroads Industrial Park by July 2005, said Jeff Carmignani, vice president of logistics.

The company, headquartered in Logan, Utah, makes such well-known brands as NordicTrack, Pro-Form, HealthRider, Weider and Gold's Gym exercise equipment.

Icon currently operates a 200,000-square-foot distribution center in Charleston, S.C. Carmignani said that facility will remain open at least until the Savannah warehouse is completed.

The new facility will mean at least 150 new jobs for Savannah, "with the potential for more if we decide to do some light manufacturing," Carmignani said.

Icon currently has facilities in China, Europe and Canada as well as the United States. Manufacturing is split about 50-50 between its U.S. and China plants, he said.

The Savannah warehouse will receive and distribute equipment manufactured in China.

"We chose Savannah for its close proximity to the Georgia Ports Authority and the large number of carriers calling on GPA," he said.

The company actually looked at Savannah five years ago, but couldn't find a suitable place to build and ended up in Charleston.

The company had been distributing most of its Far Eastern imports through its Utah headquarters, but, with more than 65 percent of its business on the East Coast, it was making less sense logistically, Carmignani said.

"It's much more cost effective to do an all-water route through the Panama Canal," he said.

Lynn Pitts, senior vice president of Savannah Economic Development Authority, said Icon's decision further solidifies Savannah's position as an important, port-related city.

"The fact that we have such a strong market from the Far East is a real important plus," he said.

It's also an indication that more and more shippers are unwilling to rely heavily on West Coast ports that have been plagued with congestion and labor problems, said SEDA president Eric Winger.

GPA spokesman Robert Morris said the new company will mean thousands more containers moving into Savannah annually.

"It's a great new piece of business for the ports," he said, adding that much of the credit has to go to the state of Georgia for its support of GPA infrastructure improvements such as Container Berth 8, even in tough economic times.

"What Gov. (Sonny) Perdue has done is invest the state in our expansion plans," Morris said. "And that tells companies like Icon that we can not only accommodate them now, but into the future."

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