NORCROSS, Ga. — Mighty Distributing System of America Inc. (MDSA) has expanded its business relationships with Jiffy Lube franchisees in the Carolinas and Nevada/Utah.
In the Carolinas, CiSA Lubes USA has opened a Mighty Auto parts franchise in Charlotte to serve customers in the greater Charlotte area, according to MDSA.
The new company, doing business as Mighty of Charlotte, is owned by Commercial Importadora S.A. de C.V. (CiSA Mexico), which operates 19 Jiffy Lube locations in the U.S., 11 in North Carolina and eight in South Carolina.
Founded in 1929, CiSA Mexico is a Mexico City-based lubricants distributor that has a very close relationship with Shell Oil. They are the exclusive blender and distributor for Quaker State and Pennzoil branded lubricants throughout Mexico as well as several Central American and Caribbean countries.
Joel Walker, chief operating officer of CiSA Lubes USA, said he's "very bullish on our new, vertically integrated Mighty business. Not only are Mighty's product programs boosting our bottom line, but their inventory management tools and information resources are already helping our stores operate more efficiently.
"We're looking forward to delivering those same benefits to our outside Mighty accounts and to growing our franchise sales by highlighting the values that make Mighty unique in the marketplace."
"All of us at Mighty are excited to welcome CiSA Lubes USA to our growing and successful franchise System," Ken Voelker, Mighty's President and CEO, said. "The strategic fit between quick service operators and a Mighty distribution franchise creates a compelling business model, and Joel Walker and his team are poised to take full advantage of the opportunity."
CISA Lubes anticipates being able to build B2B business with nonaffiliated customers in their exclusive territory in addition to distributing Mighty's parts program to its own Jiffy Lube stores, Mr. Walker said.
Mighty's second deal is an expansion of its business with PartsCo, a division of Lube Management, a 63-store Jiffy Lube operator based in Salt Lake City, Utah.
PartsCo — in partnership with another prominent Jiffy Lube group, 29-store SRE Corp. of St. George, Utah — has acquired an existing Mighty Auto Parts business in Las Vegas, which does business as Mighty of Nevada. Mighty declined to identify the franchise's previous owners.
The acquisition expands Lube Management/PartsCo's Mighty Auto Parts network to three franchises — in Utah and Idaho in addition to the Las Vegas business.
PartsCo and Lube Management principals Kirk Umphrey and Ted Neilson set up their first Mighty franchise in 2008 in Salt Lake City and acquired their second Mighty franchise, in Boise, Idaho, in 2016.
Mighty declined to specify the ownership structure of Lube Management and SRE Corp.'s joint venture. As longtime Mighty customers, SRE Principals Matthew Johnson, Kelly Kent and Kelly Thompson will now contribute to building the business in Nevada and southern Utah, MDSA said.
Mr. Neilson described the Las Vegas area as a "growing, thriving market" and said the new partners saw a "great opportunity" there.
"We've had a great partnership with Mighty and adding Las Vegas to our portfolio made sense from a geographical perspective. We look forward to many years of growth and success."
Norcross-based MDSA supports 100 franchised distributors in 44 U.S. states and five international markets.