SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – SSF Imported Auto Parts, headquartered in South San Francisco, Calif., has been acquired by a partnership of Germany’s Wessels+Mueller AG and longtime aftermarket import industry executive Thomas Beer.

SSF is a leading WD for German and Swedish automotive replacement parts, with five warehouse locations in California and Arizona. Family owned Wessels+Mueller AG is one of the largest automotive warehouse distributors in Europe, with more than 100 warehouse locations in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. Co-investor Thomas Beer is SSF’s new CEO, while former co-owner Hans Kopecky is staying on as COO.

Bastian Mueller, who represents Wessels+Mueller’s interests on the board, explained the rationale of this U.S. investment.

“The demand for European OE-quality replacement parts in the U.S. is poised for solid growth and SSF, with its leading programs for German and Swedish vehicles, is ideally positioned to take advantage of this. With our experience of the European car parc and Thomas’ exceptional market knowledge, we believe together we can add substantial value to SSF. Both companies have a really strong overlap in programs, suppliers and philosophies.”

COO Hans Kopecky added, “Wessels+Mueller is an ideal match for SSF. We are both OE quality-driven in our programs and by combining our strengths and efforts, SSF can become an even stronger complete solution for European Repair Specialists.”