Turn5 plans expansion, will add 200 jobs

By Brian McCullough
A company that sells parts online for Jeep Wranglers, Ford Mustangs and F-150 pickup trucks plans to expand and add almost 200 jobs in eastern Chester County.

The news of Turn5’s expansion was announced by Gov. Tom Wolf last week as the state put in incentives to keep the company, now based in East Whiteland, in the area. The new headquarters at 600 Cedar Hollow Road will be about four miles from its current location on Lee Boulevard, brothers and company founders Steve and Andrew Voudouris said.

The company was last in the headlines in July when it refurbished the 2012 Jeep Wrangler of wounded Folcroft Police Officer Christopher Dorman. A Jeep enthusiast, Dorman was shot seven times while responding to a drug activity call and was recovering in the hospital when Turn5 detailed his Jeep.

Now, Turn5 says business is going so well it plans to create 183 new full-time jobs during the next three years, taking its total to more than 500.
The company also will double the size of its headquarters with the move to 90,000 square feet.

“To see a successful Pennsylvania-born company grow is a true testament to Pennsylvania’s business climate,” Wolf said in a statement. “This will provide jobs to Pennsylvania’s residents and further the company’s contribution to the economic well-being of the commonwealth.”

Turn5 plans to invest $7.9 million in the expansion project.

“Andrew and I started our business in southeastern Pennsylvania, in our parents’ garage in fact, and we’ve been proud to grow here over the last 15 years,” said CEO Steve Voudouris. “We look forward to bringing more jobs and more economic development to the region as we continue to serve the auto enthusiast market with our phenomenal team.”

“This has been our headquarters here for nine years, and we’ve had aggressive growth for all of those years, particularly in the last couple of years,” added Andrew Voudouris, executive marketing director.

Turn5’s new building is now an empty warehouse that the company plans to turn into “high-class office space,” Steve Voudouris said. “We plan to be here a long time. We’re excited to need all of this space”

Turn5 received a funding proposal from the Department of Community and Economic Development that includes a $200,000 Pennsylvania First Program grant, $45,000 in WednetPA funding for employee training, and $366,000 in Job Creation Tax Credits to be distributed upon the creation of the new jobs.

The project was coordinated by the Governor’s Action Team, a group of economic development professionals who report directly to the governor and work with businesses that are considering locating or expanding in Pennsylvania, in collaboration with the Chester County Economic Development Council.

“As an e-commerce-based company, Turn5 has embraced technology and innovation to expand its business and provide significant job creation in Malvern,” said MaryFrances McGarrity, senior vice president of business development at the development council. “The IT sector is expected to remain one of the largest employers in the county, which bodes well for Turn5. We are delighted that the company has made the decision to continue its growth trajectory in Chester County.”

Founded in 2003, Turn5, Inc. is an award-winning e-commerce business that provides aftermarket auto parts, content, and customer service through the two e-retail stores, www.AmericanMuscle.com and www.ExtremeTerrain.com.

The Voudourises credit the company’s success to its workforce.

“We know the products inside and out,” Steve Voudouris said. “(Customers) can feel that – that we have the same passion that they do. We really connect with our community.”

New employee hiring has commenced. The company is looking for people in the areas of software development, IT, marketing and Jeep/Mustang experts.

It will maintain space at 1 Lee Blvd, where it has contact and distribution centers, as well as a distribution center in Linefield. The company opened a West Coast distribution center last week in Las Vegas.
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