General Parts to Merge With Texas Carquest Member

Carquest member General Parts Inc. has announced that it will merge with Strafco, a Carquest member in San Antonio, Tex.
David J. Straus, chairman and CEO of Strafco, Inc. and O. Temple Sloan, Jr., chairman and CEO of General Parts, Inc. (GPI), have jointly announced an agreement to merge the two companies.
Both GPI and Strafco, also known as Straus-Frank Co., have been members of the Carquest Distribution Group for more than 30 years. GPI is the parent company of Carquest Canada.
In announcing this merger, Straus said, “Our company, Straus-Frank Co., was established in San Antonio in 1870, 134 years ago. With this merger, it will live on as a part of General Parts, Inc. and will retain its identity as Straus-Frank Co. in our marketing area of Texas and parts of neighbouring states. We all look forward to being part of GPI and Carquest for many years ahead.”
“This certainly is a giant step forward for GPI,” said Sloan. “Strafco and GPI shared the same marketing direction through Carquest. David Straus, his family, Jack Trawick, Roger Pritt and Bob Mangold, have made important contributions in the development of Carquest. Their company has a remarkable and proud history, and everyone at GPI is thrilled with the opportunities that this merger presents.”
Strafco is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, and operates four Carquest Distribution Centres serving 317 Carquest auto parts stores, including 116 company-owned stores.
GPI is headquartered in Raleigh, N.C. Prior to the Strafco merger, GPI operated 37 Carquest Distribution Centres serving more than 3,000 Carquest stores in the U.S. and Canada.
The merger is expected to be completed on May 1, 2004.