California company to open

A California company that sells more than 1 million vehicles a year online purchased an office building in Reno's South Meadows last week and plans to launch a data center that will employ 85 people.

Company executives weren't immediately available last week to discuss the details of Copart's plans.

Copart Inc. purchased the two-story, 25,108-square-foot building at 9895 Double R Blvd. from Rahlves &

Rahlves Inc. of Carson City. Ken Stark of Stark & Associates Commercial Real Estate represented Rahlves &

Rahlves, while Copart represented itself.

Stark said Copart, which is headquartered at Fairfield, Calif., selected the Reno location because of Nevada's favorable tax environment.

The South Meadows building, he said, provided redundancy in fiber optic systems that Copart requires to ensure its data network always is on line.

The building previously was occupied by Employers Insurance Group, but has stood vacant since Employers moved to a new building a few blocks away last year.

The purchase soaks up some of the side expanses of vacant office in South Meadows. At the start of the year, vacancies in the area were estimated at 30 percent.

Just across the street from the Copart facility, The Hartford is ramping up operation of a new call center that will employ about 150. Its 29,000-square-foot building, too, had stood vacant for months.

Copart's plan for a data center fits with plans by the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada to build the region's economy around sectors that include software and business services.

Copart says it sells a car every 8 seconds, and the speed of its transactions depends on an online technology it introduced in 2003. It's now replaced all its live auctions with online sales.

Most of the vehicles sold by the company have been declared as a total loss for insurance or business purposes. It also sells dealer trade-ins, damaged rental cars, and vehicles consigned by dealers of the general public.

Copart sells vehicles to licensed dismantlers, automotive rebuilders, used car dealers and exporters. Buyers are located in more than 100 countries.

The company had its beginnings in 1982, when its chief executive officer, Willis Johnson, purchased a single salvage yard at Vallejo, California.

Today, Copart employs more than 2,500 people and operates more than 140 facilities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The publicly held company earned $156.9 million in latest full fiscal year.