Fisher Auto Parts acquires Miller Auto Parts' Pa. stores

STAUNTON, Va. (Nov. 24, 2014) — Fisher Auto Parts has acquired nine Miller Auto Parts & Supply Co. stores in Pennsylvania.

Gary Shifflett, co-president of Fisher Auto Parts, said the buyout “brings our store count in Pennsylvania to 48. Overall in 2014, we have added 11 independent jobbers and 91 company-owned stores, including KOI Auto Parts, Miller Auto Parts & Supply and new greenfield locations.

According to a recent story in the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Atlanta-based auto parts distributor Miller Auto Parts sought bankruptcy protection from creditors. The company and three affiliates — Johnson Industries Inc., Miller Auto Parts & Paint Co. Inc., and AutoPartsTomorrow.com — filed for Chapter 11 protection on Sept. 15, the publication said.

Miller Auto Parts' website says the company has been in business since 1896, when it was known as C.H. Miller Hardware Co. The firm had operated 13 locations in Pennsylvania and Maryland plus nine locations in Georgia that serviced new car dealerships, vehicle fleets and automotive repair facilities.

Mr. Shifflett said Fisher Auto Parts has “achieved our annual growth goals, yet 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.”

Fisher Auto Parts — the founding member of Federated Auto Parts Distributors — operates 489 company-owned locations and has more than 110 independent jobbers in 18 states. The company said it “continues a steady growth strategy by more than quadrupling in size over the last decade through a combination of same-store sales, new stores and acquisitions.”

The company, founded in 1929 by Blair Coiner, has approximately 5,200 employees.