Wrenchead Buys Profit Pro; Plans Big Dec. Roll-Out

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--Wrenchead Inc. has purchased Profit Pro Inc. for an undisclosed sum.

Wrenchead provides software-enabling technology to the automotive aftermarket, while the Draper, Utah-based Profit Pro specilizes in in automotive software, electronic parts cataloging and e-commerce technology. It is “one of the world’s preeminent providers of catalog data” with more than 1.5 million aftermarket parts.

The new company becomes the largest provider of enabling software and e-commerce technology for the automotive aftermarket, with products and services for manufacturers, warehouse distributors, jobbers, and installers. It will offer a comprehensive web-enabled electronic parts catalog for the automotive aftermarket--addressing replacement, accessories and performance parts.

Wrenchead and Profit Pro have worked closely together for more than a year, enhancing Profit Pro’s electronic parts catalog and e-commerce technology. The two companies have developed significant e-commerce products that will be shared with aftermarket partners in an aggressive rollout scheduled for next month.

That rollout will include Vision, Proficy, Wrenchead Pro and Wrenchead.com technologies, formulating a comprehensive suite of business-to-business offerings for the aftermarket.

“This transaction represents a critical step in our strategy to become ‘the operating system of the aftermarket,’” said Wrenchead Chief Executive Officer Gus Conrades. “The combined resources, technology and content will provide much needed products to improve revenues and enhance efficiency, for all participants in the aftermarket.”

Profit Pro CEO Brad Duncan, who will become chief strategic officer of the new operation, said the company “is now prepared technically, organizationally, and financially to become the leading provider of e-commerce technology for the automotive aftermarket. We look forward to an aggressive product rollout and intend to place our partners in the best position to win the e-commerce battle.”

A privately held company founded in 1990, Profit Pro’s electronic parts catalog and installer based technologies have been integrated by more than 100 automotive aftermarket technology companies. Through its ProfitWare and ProfitShare initiatives, Profit Pro brings together more than 1,000 manufacturer and distributor partners, Duncan said.

The Wrenchead lineup includes Wrenchead Pro Manager, a turnkey shop management system for installers, and Wrenchead Pro Lite, a business-solution software program for installers; it links them to their current suppliers, permitting installers to access required parts and check pricing and availability. Wrenchead’s investor group includes Polaris Venture Partners, Goldman Sachs & Co., WIT Capital, PaineWebber, CBS, and SFX Entertainment.

For more information, contact www.wrencheadpro.com and www.profitpro.com.