Earlier this week, the National Collision Repairer attended the official opening of AMA Group’s ACM Auto Parts division’s new distribution centre in Somerton, Victoria with both existing and prospective customers, invited guests and racing identities.
With over 19,500m2 of undercover warehouse capacity, ACM Parts has now consolidated its two existing Victorian distribution centres, more than doubling the undercover capacity and making a serious statement to the industry in the process. Becoming operational, the new facility sets the company up for a significant expansion of its national parts distribution network servicing both the collision repair sector and mechanical workshops.
Adam O’Sullivan, Executive General Manager – Supply officially welcomed the guests, highlighting that the site is now fully operational and that the Group has plans to significantly expand its range of parts to the broader market. He also thanked his team for the extraordinary effort in bringing the facility online and for getting it ready for the official launch.
We spoke exclusively with O’Sullivan about the four product ranges on display, beginning with Reclaimed Parts from a wide range of popular vehicles, highlighting that they are now “going deeper into a car” recovering as many as 30 reclaimed parts to offer a wider range to the customer.
“We see a greater demand for late model European marques which is now a growing part of our business. These are genuine parts that have been recovered and going back into the market to enable our customers to get an economical repair solution.”
We moved on to the new genuine parts range, which is sourced from the overseas manufacturers of the original part, known in the industry as parallel parts. Again, the objective is to bring a cost-effective range of genuine parts to the industry.
ACM Parts’ consumables range, including its own brand, Proline, which has been around for quite some time across the AMA Group, will soon become available to the broader market, enhancing the total product offering.
Finally, to the aftermarket, which of course means different things to different people. “There is a distinct market for this category where the customer is looking for a non-genuine option. In our case, we are bringing OES – original equipment suppliers – to the market, for example Hella lighting products. We do have plans to further develop the aftermarket range as our business continues to grow,” added O’Sullivan. “In addition, as the organisation in-sources its metro and regional delivery service across Victoria, we are excited to launch our all-new delivery fleet of vehicles.”
Following a tour of the facility, the guests were treated to an impromptu interview with current Touring Cars Masters driver, Cameron McConville, who races an ACM Parts-sponsored ’69 Chevrolet Camaro in the 2022 season. McConville had the audience enthralled by tales of his early career, his highs and lows at Bathurst and the current challenge of wrestling the Camaro around the various Australia racetracks. He also gave an insight into what it takes to become a successful race driver, not the least of which is bringing sponsorship to the team if you want to get a drive in a serious race car. McConville then spent time chatting with the guests.
Overall, the event was a great success, and it was great to see so many other AMA Group executives on hand to support this ACM Parts initiative and speak about the broader opportunities and challenges facing the Group.
Look of the full story in the August Issue of the National Collision Repairer.