National strategy fueling FCP Euro’s $30 million expansion into Jacksonville (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Daily Record) — European auto parts distributor FCP Euro is in city review to become the first tenant in a North Jacksonville warehouse, launching its Southeast expansion to strengthen its national fulfillment network and marking its biggest capital expenditure in its logistics strategy.
“This will be the most significant investment in FCP Euro’s history. Between capital investments and inventory, it will be over $30 million,” said CEO Scott Drozd by email Aug. 17.
He said FCP Euro expects to hire more than 400 employees at the center over the next five years. (A rendering of the 268,342-square-foot building in Imeson International Industrial Park shown above.)
“FCP Euro has grown significantly throughout its history, and this facility is about building the infrastructure for the next stage of that continued growth. We see Jacksonville becoming an important long-term market for us, both as an operating location and as part of the broader FCP Euro footprint,” Drozd said.
Milford, Connecticut-based FCP Euro applied for a Certificate of Use for the 268,342-square-foot building at 1215 Imeson Park Blvd. in Imeson International Industrial Park. A COU is a first step for tenants to confirm that a location complies with zoning and other requirements for the business.
Developed by Orlando-based Webb International, the site is at northeast Imeson Park Boulevard and Zoo Parkway, about 2 miles east of Interstate 95 and 4 miles west of I-295.
The project description says FCP Euro is a retailer of European OEM (original equipment manufacturer) auto parts and accessories. The e-commerce fulfillment center will be used for the inventory, storage, kitting, packaging and outbound shipping of auto parts.
The Jacksonville space includes areas to be used by in-house technical service and administrative teams.
“At roughly 270,000 square feet, Jacksonville will be our largest fulfillment center and represents an important next step in the evolution of our national fulfillment network,” Drozd said.
The 40-year-old company’s first warehouse is in Connecticut and a second opened in Mesa, Arizona.
“Our Connecticut operation remains our headquarters and a critical part of our Northeast fulfillment network, while our Arizona facility continues to serve the western United States. Jacksonville creates a third major node focused on the Southeast,” Drozd said.
“The three facilities together are intended to create a faster, more efficient, and more resilient national network as FCP Euro continues to grow.”
Drozd said the company was finalizing the total investment as it completes the design, build-out, systems and equipment plans for Jacksonville.
Both the company and Drozd posted on LinkedIn three months ago that FCP Euro was expanding into the Southeast with a fulfillment center planned to open in early 2027 in Jacksonville.
The posts said Kyle Cherry would be FCP Euro general manager of the Southeast.
FCP Euro says that it has been family owned since 1986 and is “the trusted home and online destination for European car owners and professionals.” The founders’ son, Nick Bauer, is president and also a founder.
More about Jacksonville
Drozd said Jacksonville is a critical part of FCP Euro’s continued national expansion.
“As our customer base has grown, particularly throughout the Southeast, we needed additional fulfillment capacity that would allow us to get closer to our customers, improve delivery speed, reduce transportation costs, and add resiliency to our national network,” he said.
Also, it has a lot of customers in the state.
“Florida has one of the highest concentrations of European car owners in the US, and Jacksonville stood out because of its location, transportation infrastructure, strong labor market, and ability to support our long-term growth. It will complement our existing operations in Connecticut and Arizona and put us in a stronger position to serve customers not just in Florida but throughout the broader Southeast.”
He said the project represents more than a fulfillment center.
“We are designing this space to serve as a long-term hub for our national network, creating hundreds of career opportunities across operations, management, and professional support roles. We are eager to partner with the local Jacksonville community, grow our presence alongside our new neighbors, and provide a workplace that fosters development for years to come.”
Drozd said hiring would ramp up as volume grows.
Initial hiring will be focused primarily on fulfillment and distribution operations, along with supervisory and management positions and specialized roles supporting inventory, quality, safety, systems and continuous improvement, he said.
“Our longer term plans contemplate teams supporting content development, customer service, marketing, and other back office functions.”
FCPEuro.applytojob.com shows it is hiring an IT Helpdesk Administrator II to support the fulfillment center operations. “In this role, you will be responsible for maintaining and optimizing the critical technology systems that power our fulfillment functions, including our network infrastructure, endpoints, sortation systems, and software.”
“This is a high-impact role with clear growth potential. As we continue to expand our operations, including a growing presence in Florida, this position offers the opportunity to take a greater technical responsibility and advance to higher-level, specialized roles within your IT career,” it says.
Drozd said FCP Euro is working with building developer Webb International and its president, Dan Webb, through the final build-out and vendor process.
“While our facility will feature advanced technology and modern warehouse systems, these investments are designed to empower our workforce, maintain a high level of safety, and streamline operations in support of our team members and our customers,” Drozd said.
He said FCP Euro worked with commercial real estate company JLL as its representative in the lease.
JLL Executive Managing Director Luke Pope in Jacksonville and JLL Senior Vice President Jason Roberts in New York City represented FCP Euro.
Cushman & Wakefield Executive Managing Directors Tyler Newman and Jacob Horsley have been marketing the property, Warehouse A, called 1215 Imeson Park Blvd., to tenants on behalf of Webb International.
Drozd says his contact information is scottd@fcpeuro.com.
About FCP Euro
FCPEuro.com said Harry and Kathy Bauer established the company in 1986 as a small brick-and-mortar auto parts store in Groton, Connecticut.
The business transitioned in 2001 to fully online parts sales by their son, Nick Bauer, and his longtime friend, Drozd.
“Since those early days we have grown to become an industry-leading supplier of Genuine, OE, and OEM Parts for European cars,” the site says.
It says that its 100,000-square-foot distribution center in Connecticut stocks more than $14 million of inventory and developed into a distribution model that can ship out almost all orders placed within 24 hours.
It opened a 146,000-square-foot distribution center in Mesa, Arizona, in 2023 to serve the West Coast. Upon announcing the project, FCP Euro said the center will have dedicated inbound and outbound docks, wider columns, a layout designed for substantial volumes and a phased expansion to improve customer experience.
It says its online catalog features more than 150,000 SKUs, which are inventory items, including parts for Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Volvo and Volkswagen.
The Entrepreneur business news site listed FCP Euro in 2025 as one of America’s Favorite Mom & Pop Shops.
“It’s not often that crashing a delivery truck and selling car parts on eBay sparks a thriving business, but that’s exactly what happened to Nick Bauer and Scott Drozd,” Entrepreneur wrote.
FCP Euro
It said the two started at Foreign Car Parts of Groton, the shop owned by Bauer’s parents.
It said Drozd worked there briefly in the late 1990s “before quitting after the infamous truck mishap.”
A YouTube search finds that he crashed a delivery truck while working as a high school delivery driver for Foreign Car Parts of Groton in the late 1990s and promptly quit out of embarrassment.
Entrepreneur said that a few years later, Bauer began listing parts on eBay and saw the potential of the online market.
It reported that by December 2001, their new website was outselling the physical showroom.
It said that by 2003, Drozd had returned and the pair expanded into two locations.
“By 2023, the rebranded FCP Euro had grown into a national company with millions of dollars in European car parts in stock. Their early embrace of technology transformed a small family shop into a business serving customers across the country.”
The University of Connecticut School of Business featured Drozd, a 2003 graduate, in a 2018 post.
It reported that for Drozd and Bauer, who jointly own the company, business decisions consume most of their waking hours.
“It’s just life,” Bauer said. “You just think about it all the time.”
The post said the two are constantly reading books, listening to podcasts and always learning.
“We’ve tried and failed at 1,000 things,” Drozd said. “The key is that you have to recover quickly and adjust.”
Rendering courtesy of FCP Euro