Gary Shifflett, co-president of Fisher Auto Parts, has announced the acquisition of Gipe Auto Parts company stores in Kentucky and Indiana.
The Gipe Auto Parts acquisition includes five company stores in Kentucky and a sixth location in Indiana. It does not include the automotive refinish and industrial coatings division. Gipe Auto Color will continue operation with eight locations owned and managed by the Gipe family.
Gipe Automotive Inc. was founded in 1931 by the late T. E. Gipe in Owensboro, Kentucky, and is now managed by third- and fourth-generation family members. After expanding to multiple auto parts locations in the early 1970s, Gipe Auto Color was formed as a separate division in order to best serve the automotive refinish industry.
Starting with one refinish location in 1983, Gipe Auto Color now has eight locations serving Kentucky, southern Indiana, southeast Illinois and northern Tennessee. Gipe Auto Color has been a PPG Platinum Distributor since the inception of the program in 1995 and was awarded the PPG Platinum Distributor of the Year honor in 2012.
“Gipe Automotive today is essentially two separate, flourishing businesses. To continue as market leaders in automotive parts and refinish requires one hundred percent focus in both areas. This move puts both operations in position to do just that,” said Tom Gipe. “I have known the Fisher family and management team for many years and there isn’t a finer, more talented group in the industry to lead the Gipe Automotive team of parts professionals into the future. Gipe Auto Color is proud to continue our longtime membership in the Federated group as a PBE specialist.”
Fisher Auto Parts also acquired Turney Auto Parts of Cleveland earlier this month. “In order to meet our ambitious future growth objectives, we will need to continue our strategy of teaming up with highly capable parts professionals to service additional markets,” said Shifflett. “Although we’ve experienced tremendous growth during the past several years, we remain well-positioned for further expansion. We are aggressively looking for additional acquisitions and new greenfield locations.”
The founding member of Federated Auto Parts Distributors, Fisher Auto Parts now has nearly 500 company-owned location plus more than 110 independent jobbers in 18 states. The company has continued a steady growth strategy by more than quadrupling in size over the past decade through a combination of same store sales, new stores and acquisitions. Founded in 1929 by Blair Coiner, Fisher Auto Parts currently has approximately 5,300 employees.
