Southern Comfort Conversions

Southern Comfort Conversions, Inc. is located at at 7769 Gadsden Highway in Trussville, and is the largest pickup truck, van and SUV customizer in the United States. Southern Comfort conversions can now be found in all 50 states and in countries across the world.

History

Southern Comfort was began in 1979 by Rod McSweeney as a personal hobby. This hobby would grow into a full-scale conversion business in Oneonta called AAA Auto Truck and Trailer. Originally, the company served as a remanufacturer of van chassis for companies like Krispy Kreme and Frito Lay. By the mid-1980s, McSweeney began purchasing and customizing new vans, and then selling the vans back to the new car dealers. Because of this, the company shifted its focus to upfitting and re-named itself Southern Comfort Conversions in 1986. The company moved its headquarters and main operating facility to Trussville adjacent to the Amerex Corporation, until the move to larger facilities in Center Point in 2006.

Recent Acquisitions

In 2006, Southern Comfort purchased Centurion Vehicles of White Pigeon, Mich., a licensed upfitter of Starcraft Conversions. This acquisition pushed Southern Comfort into the top spot in the country for truck, van and SUV customizers.

New Facility

After almost 12 years at its previous locations in Trussville and Oneonta, the corporate offices and all production operations of Southern Comfort Conversions were relocated to a state-of-the-art 532,000 square foot facility in the Pinson Valley Industrial Park in Center Point. The new location was the largest and most advanced facility for automobile conversions in the world. A grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony was held on November 17, 2006, and was attended by Governor Bob Riley and Center Point mayor Tom Henderson, and the public was given a tour of the new facility.

At the time, Southern Comfort had over 200 employees and provided vehicles to dealerships throughout the Southeastern United States, as well as selected regions in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and the West.

Downturn

Due to the auto industry downturn and rising gas prices during the Great Recession, in 2009 Southern Comfort abandoned the Center Point facility and moved back to their previously facility in Trussville with a smaller workforce.

References

• Southern Comfort Conversions, About Us. Accessed 31 Jan 2007 [1].
• "Southern Comfort Conversions Announces Open House/Ribbon-Cutting Ceremonies Attended by Governor Bob Riley", Yahoo Finance, accessed 31 Jan 2007[2]

External Links

• Southern Comfort Conversions, Inc. official website