They have 1000 condo kitchens coming into their Oakland California warehouse shortly that they need to find homes for.
They look pretty nice if you need a small kitchen for an in-law unit, apartment or condo.
Below is the scoop:
Peggy
One Thousand Kitchens!
Logistics Moves to the Front Burner
By Ted Reiff
A couple of weeks ago one of our Northern California TRP-certified deconstruction contractors handed us a real test of our logistical capabilities: a contract to partially deconstruct two separate apartment complexes, one in Sunnyvale and the other a few miles away in Santa Clara. Each complex contains approximately 500 units, and the contractor's job is to remove all interior doors, kitchen cabinets and appliances, bathroom vanities, and some light fixtures, including fan lights.
The kitchens are typical apartment size, consisting of three base cabinets, three wall cabinets, floor-to-ceiling pantry cabinet, sink, countertops, stove, refrigerator and dishwasher. Some units also have washers and dryers.
TRP has known since its inception that salvaging building materials is only half the challenge in this business, and frequently not the most formidable half. The most difficult task can be finding a satisfactory way to dispose of the materials — to get them into the hands of people who can use them. This conundrum includes handling at the point of salvage, shipping to markets, interim storage or warehousing, consolidation, breaking bulk, trans-loading, and final delivery to the customer.
Our projected solution is to open a network of reuse facilities throughout the U.S. If we can easily ship materials from one location to another as supply and demand dictate, we can push the envelope regarding the size and scope of the projects we undertake. Only in this way will we become more effective at what we do and achieve our mission on a grand scale. The long-term goal is to have 20 to 25 regions in major metropolitan areas of the country. If we had these now, this project would be a slam dunk. But we don't.
So, how do we plan to manage the challenge at hand? With trailers — relays of them. At each site, over a period of about five weeks, the contractor will fill a 48-foot trailer with all the materials from approximately 20 to 25 units. TRP will take delivery of two semi-trailers every five weeks, at the same time returning two empty trailers to the sites. TRP is arranging for the rental of the trailers and the contractor is reimbursing us for the local drayage.
We estimate that our Oakland store can sell two of these kitchens per week. (They will have to compete for customer dollars with the kitchens and other materials we receive on a day-to-day basis.) Our Los Angeles outlet might be able to duplicate this volume, and our Colorado location can probably sell one per week. Consequently, at the end of one year, these two projects will add 150 to 250 unsold kitchens (and other items) to our inventory, and by the conclusion of the projects the number will be 300 to 500.
Assuming our warehouse sales estimates are correct, we will require space to store 10 to 15 trailers until the last of the materials have been moved to the floor of the warehouse.
TRP will be contacting nonprofit organizations throughout the Bay Area to offer these materials free of charge, as donations. However, we will be asking interested organizations to accept a minimum of one complete trailer load and to pay the transportation expenses to their location.
Can you help us find homes for these materials? If you have any solid suggestions, please phone Joe Feller, Operations Manager, The ReUse People of America: 510.383.1983 or 888.588.9490.
Special of the Month
At the Oakland warehouse this month we are featuring – you guessed it – kitchen cabinets. Receive 50% off on any complete kitchen (without appliances) until November 15. Normally a complete kitchen sells for $280 – we are offering them at $140.
Location and Contact Information
TRP ReUse Bazaar
9235 San Leandro Street
Oakland, CA 94603
(510) 383-1983; toll-free 888-588-9490
Hours: Mon through Fri 10:00 to 6:00; Sat and Sun 10:00 to 4:00
