Land Rover North America Dedicates New Headquarters
30 April 1997
Land Rover North America Dedicates New Headquarters
HRH Princess Alexandra Unveils Plaque in Ceremony at $8 Million-plus Facility
LANHAM, Md., April 30 -- In a reprise of her role at the 1986
dedication of Land Rover North America, Inc.'s former headquarters,
HRH Princess Alexandra, first cousin to HM Queen Elizabeth II, today unveiled
a dedication plaque affixed to a large quarried rock at the company's new
corporate headquarters. The rock is just one feature of the lobby which
brings an outdoors feel inside through displays of company products such as a
vehicle perched atop a boulder-covered ramp. The new 60,000 square foot
offices are the second phase of a more than $12 million building program begun
last year and join the adjacent Land Rover Demonstration Course at Lanham
Creek, dedicated in July 1996. The final phase, Land Rover University and a
second demonstration/training course, will be the company's primary training
center for retail and corporate employees. Completion of the building is
scheduled for this summer.
LRNA currently enjoys more than $1 billion in annual retail sales and is
its U.K. parent's largest export market. 1996 set a new record of 23,182
retails, 15.8 percent over the previous year. To date, nearly 90,000 of the
British-built vehicles have been sold in the U.S. since March 1987. The
company currently distributes the Range Rover -- the benchmark in sport
utility vehicles, the family-oriented Discovery and the sporty Defender 90.
Charles R. Hughes, president, LRNA, said, "This is a proud day for
everyone associated with Land Rover. In just ten years, we have seen our
annual sales increase eight-fold, revolutionized automotive retailing through
our Land Rover Centres, won numerous product and advertising awards -- and
have had great fun doing it all. This outstanding facility will serve us well
as we continue to grow our Land Rover business in North America."
Land Rover Centres, which currently number 49 out of a total 108 retail
partners, provide a friendly, expert customer experience for the active,
outdoor-oriented owners of the company's U.K.-built Range Rover, Discovery and
Defender 90 vehicles.
Building reflects Land Rover heritage
The new headquarters distinctively proclaims its heritage with a soaring
green block pylon emblazoned with the Land Rover oval -- a feature found at
all Land Rover Centres and a rock articulation display of company products
outside the main entrance. Built in an expanded image of a Land Rover Centre,
the building's two-story lobby features large windows, a wooden ceiling with
recessed lighting alcoves, a tile floor with inlaid compass rose and an
enclosed hand-crafted masonry elevator shaft.
The lobby also features an "Adventure Centre" display and state-of-the-art
audio/visual capability. Elsewhere, a company Gear Store, which stocks a
growing range of clothing and personal accessories, echoes those found at all
Land Rover Centres. The two-story building accommodates 175 employees
responsible for retail operations, marketing, corporate communications,
in-house and field training, administration, customer service and information
technology.
Government officials, Rover Group executives, retail partners attend
Offering congratulatory remarks and proclamations were Maryland's
Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Prince George's County
Executive Wayne Curry, and Rover Group Ltd. chairman and chief executive
Dr. Walter Hasselkus. Among the 300-plus guests were Tom Purves, Rover Group
director of sales and marketing, the U.S. and Canadian Land Rover dealer
principals from the company's 122 North American network and LRNA employees.
Facility complemented by off-road demonstration course
The Land Rover Demonstration Course at Lanham Creek lies adjacent to the
new headquarters. Designed and built by John Cummings of Outside Associates,
Houston, whose credentials include the landscaping of many areas of
Disneyland, Paris, the course, set on a six-acre site, is both visually
spectacular and environmentally sensitive to its protected wetlands status.
Mr. Hughes said, "We are proud that this course -- a rare blending of art
and engineering -- perfectly affords dramatic demonstrations of the unmatched
capabilities of Land Rover vehicles." LRNA is the only sport utility importer
or manufacturer in the U.S. to have such a course at the site of its national
headquarters.
The course boasts more than a dozen specially-designed areas that showcase
the vehicles' prowess. The total driving length is 1,729 feet, plus 245 feet
of "expert only" features. Emphasis is placed on the need to maintain proper
speeds, ranging from a crawl to five mph, for each section. A six-tenths of a
kilometer (approximately 1,960 feet) jogging trail follows a portion of the
site's perimeter; eight and one-third laps of the course equals a 5K run.
Constructed in an environmentally sensitive manner, the course does not
impact the habitat of resident mammals or the adjacent nontidal wetland which
improves water quality and provides both flood control and a wildlife habitat.
Although relatively small, the site is home to a wide range of plants and
animals. A professional survey at the time of its 1986 dedication identified
numerous species: 13 mammals, 37 birds, nine reptiles and amphibians, nine
butterflies, two dragonflies, and 94 varieties of plants. The plant diversity
is large and offers a variety of berry, nut and forage plants especially
conducive to wildlife.
Land Rover North America, Inc. is a member of the Rover Group of
Companies, importing vehicles manufactured by Land Rover, Solihull, England.
The Rover Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BMW AG.
For information about the dealer nearest you, contact Land Rover North
America at 800-FINE-4WD or visit the web site at http://LandRover.com.
SOURCE Land Rover North America, Inc.
