COBB Tuning will be moving its headquarters and opening a new parts manufacturing center in Austin, Texas in the first half of 2010. The 16,000 sq ft NW Austin location will open by mid-April and house the sales, support, AccessPORT engineering, hard-parts engineering, hard-parts manufacturing, warehouse and distribution facilities. The move to Austin brings many benefits to COBB Tuning and is an essential part of the strategy to reach the company’s goals for 2010 and beyond.

COBB Tuning plans to strengthen its position in the automotive performance industry by providing a more comprehensive and consistent product line-up with faster time to market. Key components to fulfilling this goal include staffing appropriately to move projects forward in parallel, improve production speed and eliminate product delays by moving manufacturing in-house, enhance R&D and testing to optimize product quality and reduce operating expense. Austin offers many benefits that will ensure these components are in place and will help move the business towards its goals.

Austin is considered a major center for high tech, and paired with the proximity of The University of Texas, will provide improved access to qualified engineering talent. Austin’s large skilled labor force and access to raw materials will provide a solid foundation for new product manufacturing center. Product testing will be facilitated by the large population and vehicle diversity of Austin and nearby cities. The central North America location is optimal for product distribution and the tax benefits in Texas are significant.

COBB Tuning’s move to Austin will also start the 2010 ramp-up of the new product manufacturing center. The focus will be on developing and manufacturing high-quality power components designed to complement each other and the AccessPORT product line. The Austin facility will house design equipment (CMM and Rapid Prototyping Machines) and staff to develop and prototype new parts as well as house manufacturing equipment and staff necessary for the production and final assembly of COBB products. A Mustang All-Wheel-Drive dynamometer will also be located at this facility for both hard-parts and AccessPORT research and development purposes.

The Salt Lake City location will be downsized to house the reduced staff that will remain in Utah. Relocating away from the strong enthusiast community in Salt Lake City was a difficult decision to make, but one that the company believes makes the most sense for the business. COBB Tuning has grown and been successful in Salt Lake City and a lot of that success is attributed to the fantastic enthusiasts located in Utah.

COBB Tuning will be hiring to fill open positions at the Austin location. Those interested in seeking employment at COBB Tuning should visit the COBB Tuning Careers page at http://cobbtuning.com/careers. New openings will be posted on this page throughout the move. Additional information will be provided regarding the relocation in upcoming weeks. COBB Tuning will be hosting an open house to mix with the local enthusiasts and provide tours of the new facility. A date for the open house will be announced once the Austin location is closer to completion.

About COBB Tuning:

COBB Tuning is an automotive engineering company dedicated to providing professionally engineered, thoroughly-tested solutions and components that improve vehicle performance and the driving experience. COBB Tuning’s range of products and services include Honda, Infiniti, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Nissan and Subaru. COBB Tuning is Engineered Performance.