Porsche Distribution & Training Center, Easton, PA
05-27-2010, 09:30 PM
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Porsche Distribution & Training Center, Easton, PA
Last night I was lucky enough to attend the monthly Riesentoter PCA meeting that was held at the new Porsche Distribution & Training Center in Easton, PA. The place left me drooling - an amazing place to visit and I had to share some photos with you.
The center in Easton is the newest of 3 centers in the US and serves the Northeast corridor. All parts are serviced to the dealer network from Easton, as well as all Porsche mandated tech training.
It was truly amazing to see the cars in classroom settings being used as training tools - stripped and rebuilt over and over by technicians. There were benches set up with transmissions mounted and ready to be worked on - this place was everything Porsche.
It was breathtaking to see the racks of parts - yes, lots of engines for every kind of Porsche.
I learned a couple of things that I thought I'd share.
i) Peak demand for 996 engines on the eastern US was 4 years ago and demand has since declined dramatically. The comment that was made was that if you still have your engine, then you're probably okay at this point.
ii) All parts are serviced overnight from the distribution centers, with an absolute of 3 day turnaround within the US. If they can't get the part in the US, then they will ship it from Germany. If they don't have it in stock, then they will make it, even if the part is for an old car like a 356 - now that's customer support!
... this place had more parts than even Ed's garage!
The center in Easton is the newest of 3 centers in the US and serves the Northeast corridor. All parts are serviced to the dealer network from Easton, as well as all Porsche mandated tech training.
It was truly amazing to see the cars in classroom settings being used as training tools - stripped and rebuilt over and over by technicians. There were benches set up with transmissions mounted and ready to be worked on - this place was everything Porsche.
It was breathtaking to see the racks of parts - yes, lots of engines for every kind of Porsche.
I learned a couple of things that I thought I'd share.
i) Peak demand for 996 engines on the eastern US was 4 years ago and demand has since declined dramatically. The comment that was made was that if you still have your engine, then you're probably okay at this point.
ii) All parts are serviced overnight from the distribution centers, with an absolute of 3 day turnaround within the US. If they can't get the part in the US, then they will ship it from Germany. If they don't have it in stock, then they will make it, even if the part is for an old car like a 356 - now that's customer support!
... this place had more parts than even Ed's garage!
Last edited by Wellardmac; 04-17-2013 at 05:39 PM.
05-27-2010, 09:31 PM
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These guys were really generous with their time and knowledge - an honor to spend time with them and I'm very grateful that they let us into their place of work. Seriously cool.
These guys were really generous with their time and knowledge - an honor to spend time with them and I'm very grateful that they let us into their place of work. Seriously cool.
Last edited by Wellardmac; 04-17-2013 at 05:39 PM.
05-27-2010, 09:57 PM
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It was amazing... I was so envious of them working in such a cool place, but the reality is that they're just regular car guys working for an extraordinary company.
05-27-2010, 10:31 PM
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Awesome! thanks for posting, I would have loved to have seen that. There is a small Porsche tech center near my office and the Audi/VW/LAmbo tech center is actually next to my office. Always cool stuff in the lot.
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05-27-2010, 10:59 PM
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Thanks guys - I felt like a school kid in this place. It was so cool to see a bunch of enthusiasts having fun - the staff must have felt like rock stars. ...it was a once in a lifetime experience and we were the first PCA region to get the tour.... seriously cool.
...only we could rave about how well sealed the underside of a Panamera was.
The guys that worked there answered any question we threw at them. I enjoyed hearing about Porsche training classes and the rigors that they put the tech through (pretty tough stuff). We saw a PDK stripped (and explained to us) - engines partially disassembled... even an explanation of Porsches training regimes - and the sad truth that Porsche has so many news cars that are increasingly complicated that the older cars are now being neglected in terms of tech retraining and it will be harder and harder to find good techs as the older guys leave the workshop.
Interesting tidbit - they were very excited about the impending arrival of the Porsche hybrid engine and see it as the future for them. They were disappointed that Porsche has made the decision not to bring their diesel engine to the US, but that is a strategic marketing decision (much as it is a superior engine to the hybrid). The arrival of the hybrid means that all dealerships will now have to have a high energy tech on staff to deal with the complicated and high energy circuits in the new hybrid cars. A comment was made that it is now easier and easier to fry the circuits in the newer cars - basically after the arrival of the 996 is became easier to kill electronics.... I did also learn that jumping a dead battery from the battery terminals on a 996 is a huge no-no... didn't know that. They prefer to see you using a capacitor from the cigarette lighter socket.
..they did have the transmission from Phil's old car on the bench - it had a blindingly intense shine from lack of use. They were confused about why it hadn't ceased up considering that it had been used so little.
...it was a once in a lifetime experience and we were the first PCA region to get the tour.... seriously cool. ...only we could rave about how well sealed the underside of a Panamera was.
The guys that worked there answered any question we threw at them. I enjoyed hearing about Porsche training classes and the rigors that they put the tech through (pretty tough stuff). We saw a PDK stripped (and explained to us) - engines partially disassembled... even an explanation of Porsches training regimes - and the sad truth that Porsche has so many news cars that are increasingly complicated that the older cars are now being neglected in terms of tech retraining and it will be harder and harder to find good techs as the older guys leave the workshop.
Interesting tidbit - they were very excited about the impending arrival of the Porsche hybrid engine and see it as the future for them. They were disappointed that Porsche has made the decision not to bring their diesel engine to the US, but that is a strategic marketing decision (much as it is a superior engine to the hybrid). The arrival of the hybrid means that all dealerships will now have to have a high energy tech on staff to deal with the complicated and high energy circuits in the new hybrid cars. A comment was made that it is now easier and easier to fry the circuits in the newer cars - basically after the arrival of the 996 is became easier to kill electronics.... I did also learn that jumping a dead battery from the battery terminals on a 996 is a huge no-no... didn't know that. They prefer to see you using a capacitor from the cigarette lighter socket.
..they did have the transmission from Phil's old car on the bench - it had a blindingly intense shine from lack of use. They were confused about why it hadn't ceased up considering that it had been used so little.
05-28-2010, 08:38 AM
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05-28-2010, 09:58 AM
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05-28-2010, 11:24 AM
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LOL! My kid and I both went to college in Easton (Lafayette). That town has really had a renaissance in the past few years. I was completely unaware that Porsche had built this facility. Great pics - I'll have to take a run up there to see it. In my Audi or on my bicycle.
