K&M buys AWT's Texas assets

DELPHOS, Ohio (Sept. 16, 2014) — K&M Tire has purchased the Texas assets of Area Wholesale Tire Co. Inc. (AWT), the Baton Rouge, La.-based wholesaler with operations in Louisiana and Texas.

The purchase, effective Sept. 15, includes tire inventory, assets and a customer list. Financial details were not disclosed. Approximately 30 AWT employees are affected.

Delphos-based K&M said it will combine its existing warehouse operations in Dallas and Houston with those of AWT. San Antonio represents a new market for K&M Tire.

“We are very excited about this opportunity with Area Wholesale Tire to expand our footprint and add to our customer base in Texas.” said K&M Tire Vice President Cheryl Gossard.

“We welcome all of Area Wholesale Tire's Texas employees and customers to our team. We are looking forward to growing our business in Texas with them.

“Customer service is our No. 1 priority, so it is extremely important for us, and we will be working closely with everyone involved to ensure a seamless transition. We want to make sure that all of our customers receive the top notch service we feel they deserve and have come to expect from K&M Tire.”

K&M said it plans to consolidate both firms' operations at its Dallas warehouse, while in Houston it intends to keep operating both warehouses.

The acquisition expands K&M's reach to 18 distribution centers serving customers throughout 19 states stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border. Annual sales exceed $250 million.

This is K&M's second acquisition in Texas in 2014. In January it purchased the assets of Mid-Tex Wholesale Tire in Waco. It entered the Texas market in 20102 with its purchase of the Dallas and Houston distribution centers from Reliable Tire Co.

AWT will continue to operate its facilities in Baton Rouge, Bossier City, Lafayette and Westwego, La., K&M said. AWT also distributes in western Texas and New Mexico through an associate dealer agreement with York Tire, with locations in Amarillo and Lubbock, Texas, and Clovis, N.M.

The wholesaler traces its foundation to the former Dayton Tire & Rubber Co., which in 1965 was in “dire straits,” according to AWT. The firm had just been acquired by Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., and Dayton Tire warehouses across the country were being closed.

The father-son team of C.S. and C.R. Potter stepped up to buy the Baton Rouge wholesale operation and reopened it as AWT. The wholesaler expanded into Texas in 1985.

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