FENTON, Mo. – Effective March 31, AMS Automotive LLC has acquired the assets of AMS Automotive Inc. and Ovis Sales LP. Chris Jackson has acquired the business from his father, Ron Jackson, who has announced retirement earlier this month. The father and son duo worked together at AMS for 23 years.
AMS Automotive Inc. is an aftermarket supplier of clutch components and gas-charged lift supports for the North American market, sold under numerous brands including RhinoPac, New Generation and World Car, in addition to several private label program distribution group brands. Ron Jackson founded the company in 1987.
Chris Jackson will serve as president of the company and will lead day-to-day operations. Chris has more than two decades of experience in the automotive aftermarket, most recently as vice president of AMS Automotive Inc., and president of Ovis Sales LP. Working with his father Ron and the AMS team, Chris has been instrumental in building the company into a premier supplier to the automotive aftermarket.
Chris Jackson founded Ovis Sales LP in 2005. It is a research, engineering and design company that specializes in the development of automotive and class 6-8 flywheels, as well as class 6-8 clutch components.
In addition to Chris Jackson’s new role, Jim Mannebach will lead the company serving as CEO. He brings more than 25 years of global leadership experience to AMS. He was formerly the CEO at Norgren, a world leader in fluid power solutions, where he led the company to market-leading positions in the passenger car and heavy-truck OEM market segments. Mannebach also has held senior executive operating roles at Roper Industries and Emerson Electric.
Mannebach remarked, "Chris brings extensive knowledge and leadership in the aftermarket, and has been key to achieving the strong position that the company now enjoys. I look forward to partnering with Chris and the new management team to build on our outstanding reputation and demonstrated performance. AMS Automotive LLC is well positioned with a strong management team and balance sheet to support our growth initiatives. I also want to wish Ron Jackson the best as he announced his retirement earlier this week.”
Other key additions to the organization are Jeff Kyle and Joe Asfour. Kyle brings extensive operating and finance leadership. He was formerly the CFO of Sensus, and held several senior executive roles at Power-One Inc. and SanDisk. Asfour brings a wide range of market development and sales leadership experience. He most recently served as president of DCIM, a full-service marketing firm focused in the North American automobile industry, and was instrumental in growing Norgren’s global heavy-truck business with the OEM’s, and Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers.
“I am very pleased to have Jeff and Joe as a part of the AMS Automotive LLC management team. They bring strong operational expertise, and will help drive the company’s growth through development of its emerging strategic initiatives,” said Jackson.
