Bauer Built buys Allied Oil's commercial tire, retread business

OMAHA, Neb. — Bauer Built Inc. has acquired the tire division of Allied Oil & Tire Co., extending its commercial reach to 40  sales/service locations and eight retread plants in 10 Midwestern states.

Terms of the deal, which comprises seven outlets in five states, a Michelin Retread Technologies (MRTI) retread plant and a wheel-refinishing operation in Omaha, were not disclosed. With the divestiture, Allied will revert to its Allied Oil & Supply Inc. name and focus on expansion of its lubricants business and Industrial Services division.

The Allied Oil tire business, which operates commercial tire centers in Des Moines and Sioux City, Iowa; Wichita, Kan.; Kansas City and Joplin, Mo.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Omaha, reported sales of $102.7 million in fiscal 2017.

By comparison, Bauer Built's commercial-related sales last year were $185 million.

Durand, Wis-based Bauer Built will be retaining nearly 90 of Allied Tire's employees and expects to be hiring a few more as the merger moves forward. When the companies are merged, Bauer estimates it will have a workforce of about 600.

Bauer Built called the acquisition a "perfect fit" since Allied offers many of the same products as Bauer Built — both companies are part of the Michelin Commercial Service Network and operate MRT retread plants — and geographically it both strengthens Bauer Built's current position and fills void in existing markets and provides for expansion into new areas.

Allied Oil has been affiliated with Michelin for a long time, including being an MRT affiliate since 1998. Its plant in Omaha is one of only a few hybrid MRT plants — mold-cure and precure production together — in the Midwest.

Bauer Built, founded in 1944 by G.F. "Sam" Bauer, celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. The original business was in bulk petroleum, but the company began selling tires and related services a year later.

In addition to the tire business, Bauer Built operates a bulk petroleum business referred to as Bauer Built Oil out of their headquarters in Durand.