Redwood City, Calif.-Kohlweiss Auto Parts Inc. purchased certain assets of Reed Distributing Co. on July 24, acquiring the Reed Distributing name and the right to do business as Reed, Owner Frank Kohlweiss said.
Chuck Robinson, president of Reed, will stay on as a senior outside salesman working out of Kohlweiss' Redwood City location, Kohlweiss said.
The two companies were direct competitors for 28 years and had several locations close to each other, Kohlweiss said. But during nearly three decades of competition, the two owners became friends, he said.
"Chuck and I used to talk facetiously about buying each other out," he said. "Now we can chase new markets without chasing each other. Our ultimate goal is to eventually get down to the South Bay. It just makes sense for us."
Kohlweiss Auto Parts is a two-step wholesale parts distributor with warehouses in Sunnyvale and Mountain View, and a 45,000-square-foot superstore in Redwood City, Kohlweiss said. It touts itself as the largest independent wholesale and retail distributor of parts, tools, and equipment in Northern California, employing 102 people and doing $20 million annually in gross sales, he said.
Kohlweiss Auto Parts is a member of Pronto and services more than 1,200 accounts throughout the Bay Area, he said.
Kohlweiss said he is excited about the purchase for several reasons. "Chuck Robinson is a professional and knows this business inside and out, and we got him in the deal, which is great. And we've already seen a jump in business out of certain areas," he said.
"We're strengthening ourselves in those markets. So it's been a good addition, and we're very pleased."
