Genuine Parts Company

Genuine Parts Company (GPC) is an American automotive and industrial parts distributor based in Atlanta, Georgia.[1] Established by brothers Carlyle and Malcolm Fraser in 1928, the company has approximately 60,000 employees.[2] In addition to the United States, GPC has operated in Australasia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, and the United Kingdom. GPC's subsidiaries include industrial parts distributor Motion as well as NAPA Auto Parts, which primarily sells parts in North America.[3]

Company history

Genuine Parts Company (GPC) was founded by brothers Carlyle and Malcolm Fraser in Atlanta in 1928.[4]

GPC's headquarters were located at Atlanta's Circle 75, in Cobb County, starting in 1979. Approximately 400 employees worked in the 115,000-square-foot space.

Subsidiaries

GPC has two primary business segments: Motion, which focuses on industrial products, and the automotive brand NAPA Auto Parts.[23]

According to Industrial Distribution, Motion started as a distributor of bearings and industrial supplies, and expanded to offer products related to automation, conveyance, hydraulics, fluid power, and robotics.[24] GPC acquired Motion in 1976. GPC's electrical products division, EIS Inc., merged with Motion in 2018,[25] before being sold in October 2019.[23] Based in Birmingham, Alabama, Motion has approximately 9,000 employees and 170,000 customers as of 2023.[24]

NAPA Auto Parts was established in 1925.[26] Some NAPA Auto Parts stores are owned and operated by GPC, but most are independently owned and operated.[27] There were approximately 6,000 NAPA Auto Parts stores in 2020.[26]

GPC acquired UAP Inc. of Canada in 1998 and the Australian car parts supplier Exego Group in 2013.[28][29] GPC and its four business units acquired nineteen companies in 2016.[30] In 2017, GPC acquired a 35 percent stake in industrial distributor Inenco Group,[31] as well as Alliance Automotive Group.[32] GPC acquired Kaman Distribution Group (KDG), a provider of industrial solutions such as automation, conveyance, and fluid power, in 2022.[24]

Former subsidiaries

In 1975, GPC acquired S.P. Richards, which was described by Industrial Distribution as "a distributor of general office products, technology products and accessories, office furniture, JanSan and safety supplies".[23]

In 2018, GPC announced plans to merge the "workplace essentials distributor" Essendant into S.P. Richards, following a spin-off of S.P. Richards to become an independent company called Essendant.[33] GPC sold S.P. Richards through a series of transactions in 2020, starting with the Canada division in January. The U.S. operations were sold to an investor group and the Supply Source Enterprise business, which included The Safety Zone and Impact Products operations, were sold to an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital. GPC continued with Motion and NAPA Auto Parts.[23]

type	Public
traded as	nyse: GPC S&P 500 component
foundation	1925, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
location	Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
founder	Carlyle and Malcolm Fraser
subsid	NAPA Auto Parts, Repco
key people	Paul Donahue (executive chairman) Will Stengel (CEO)
num employees	48,001
homepage	www.genpt.com

Genuine Parts Company

Company history

Company timeline

Subsidiaries

Former subsidiaries

External links

References