On Thursday, September 14th, BSC America opened the doors to its new Bel Air Auto Auction facility in the Riverside Business Park at 4805 Philadelphia Road, Belcamp, Maryland. That morning, Harford County Executive Barry Glassman, with several other county and elected officials, joined the Nichols family in front of the lanes where a formal ribbon cutting event preceded the first auction at BSC's new facility, where cutting edge technology will provide the support to its substantially expanded ten bay auction building. On the preceding evening, September 13th, the Nichols Family hosted a special Customer Preview and Happy Hour event to commemorate this milestone in the Bel Air Auto Auction's 70 year history, providing both refreshments and facility tours for many of their dealer customers to acclimate them to the layout of the new ten-bay sales facility and its registration areas, prior that first sale.
Raymond C. Nichols, CEO of BSC America family of companies, described the project and the reasons for the Nichols family businesses relocating from their prior Belair Road location: "Charles, Michelle and I, as partners in Bel Air Auto Auction Inc., are thrilled to announce that on September 14th the first vehicles crossed the auction block at our new 185-acre location. The new auction will be able to BSC America’s new Bel Air Auto Auction facility opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, September 14th. accommodate continued growth in the marketplace and allow us to serve better our customers' needs with ease and efficiency in a state of the art auction facility."
On Thursday, September 14th, the Bel Air Auto Auction welcomed all of its customers to the First Regular Sale at the new facility. It began with complimentary breakfast at 8 A.M., followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 8:30 A.M. Ray Nichols sold the first car to cross the block; Bel Air Auto Auction Vicepresident, Michelle Nichols-Neff capped that sale by announcing that the Bel Air Auto Auction, Inc. will make a donation to the Hurricane Relief Funds in an amount equal to that sales price for the first car across the new block.
Ribbon cutting ceremoy before the first car is sold at BSC America's new Bel Air Auto Auction.
BSC America's President, R. Charles Nichols, noted that the ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the auction's official opening comes two years after the ground-breaking ceremony that marked the beginning of the construction process.
"It has taken us many years of planning and a tremendous amount of work on the part of everyone involved in the building and moving process to bring us to this exciting point in our Auction's history. We are enthused to be providing it for our customers and employees," said Nichols.
He went on to describe the amenities of Bel Air Auto Auction's new site which includes a 75,000 square foot, 10-lane Auction facility, restaurant and administrative office building, as well as a separate, state-of-art, 50,000 square-foot "Vehicle Enhancement Center" which houses both mechanical and body shops, reconditioning bays, paint booths as well as an imaging center. A separate building provides a stream-lined check in facility for dealers and transporters. The new facility will also house BSC America's corporate headquarters, administrative offices, regional staff, dealer lender services and BSC's remarketing group, Atlantic Auctions.
"Our objective in building the new auction was to provide large, modern, auction facilities centrally located in the Mid-Atlantic Region near Bel Air, Maryland, but just off I-95 in order to be able to better serve our sellers and buyers. This new site provides a convenient environment for both our customers Ribbon cutting ceremoy before the first car is sold at BSC America's new Bel Air Auto Auction. and for our employees," explained Michelle Nichols-Neff, Vice President of BSC America. "We're also excited about our new dealer restaurant, and customer service suites with Wi-Fi provided workstations. Those new service facilities will be attractive, useful and convenient for customers who will be able to enjoy Bel Air Auto Auction's delicious fare while attending our regular weekly Thursday auctions, our bi-weekly GM Financial Factory auctions, plus our other auction events."
Ray Nichols sells the first car to cross the block at the new Bel Air Auto Auction
Nichols-Neff reports that the next major special event at the Bel Air Auto Auction's new Belcamp facility on the calendar (other than scheduled auctions, the schedule for which can be accessed on line at bscamerica.com) is a two-day Grand Opening Celebration in October, beginning with a GM Financial Closed Sale at 10 A.M. on Wednesday, October 18th. A Grand Opening Reception for invited guests will follow on that evening from 5:30 to 9:00 pm. The following day, Thursday, October 19th, marks the Bel Air Auto Auction's Annual Harvest and Grand Opening Sale, which will feature the season's largest consignment of vehicles crossing all ten auction lanes, and a special Classic Car Event with over 100 Classic Vehicles to be offered for auction.
Bel Air Auto Auction is the flagship auction of the BSC America Auction Group, which also includes Tallahassee Auto Auction in Florida, plus a specialty Weekly Auction, located at BSC's Clayton Station location in Edgewood, Maryland. Since its founding in 1947, the Bel Air Auto Auction has grown to become the largest independent dealer auto auction located in the Mid-Atlantic region, offering more than 100,000 vehicles for sale annually. BSC and the Bel Air Auto Auction, have lengthy histories in providing special services for their fleet and financial institution customers. BSC's clients include leasing companies, banks, credit unions, financing companies, daily rental firms, government agencies and other special clients. The Bel Air Auto Auction is a member of both the ServNet Auction group and the National Auto Auction Association.