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Nation's Largest Auto Parts Recycling Company Enters Greater New York City Market

14 September 1999

Nation's Largest Auto Parts Recycling Company Enters Greater New York City Market

    CHICAGO, Sept. 13 -- LKQ Corporation, the nation's largest
auto parts recycler, has entered the New York City market with the acquisition
of Hunts Point Auto Parts, the Bronx.  The deal marks LKQ's fifth acquisition
since June and boosts to 35 the network's total number of auto parts recycling
operations.
    Founded in 1998, LKQ has annualized sales in excess of $200 million.
    Hunts Point Auto Parts serves the nation's single largest market, with
approximately 20 million residents and more than 27,000 automobile collision
and mechanical repair shops.  The recycling operation reaches customers in
each of New York City's boroughs as well as the "collar counties," Long Island
and major portions of Connecticut and New Jersey.
    "Hunts Point is a strong operation and the recognized leader in its
marketplace," said Joseph M. Holsten, LKQ president and chief executive
officer.  "The company has a track record of innovation and customer service
that has generated tremendous growth and earned a respected position within
the mechanical and collision repair industries, the automobile insurance
industry and the recycling industry.
    "Not only does the acquisition of Hunts Point significantly enhance our
national network, but when combined with our existing New England operations
(Route 16 Auto Parts, Webster, Mass.; and Gorham Auto Parts, Portland, Maine)
it establishes LKQ as the premier supplier of recycled OEM auto parts along
the Eastern Seaboard."
    As is typical with LKQ acquisitions, Hunts Point's former owner, Joseph
Simone, and general manager, Louis Scarnati, will continue to manage day-to-
day operations.
    The Hunts Point transaction represents one of LKQ's largest acquisitions
to date.  Since June, the company has completed the purchases of Gorham Auto
Parts, Portland, Maine; Grainger Auto Parts, Savannah, Ga.; Midwest Foreign
Auto, Omaha, Neb.; Raleigh Auto Parts, Raleigh, N.C.; and Tercek Enterprises,
Portland, Ore.
    "LKQ's national network now provides high-quality recycled auto parts to
approximately 75 percent of the nation's 50 largest population centers,"
Holsten said.
    "We are building a national business in a fragmented industry by combining
professional management with the entrepreneurial spirit and operational
experience of the nation's most successful and reliable automobile recyclers.
    "We're expanding our markets by educating the collision and mechanical
repair industries and the consumer on the quality and value of recycled auto
parts, and are raising the standards for customer service, warranty support
and environmental compliance.  Our commitment to our customers is simple:
Quality, service and value -- guaranteed."
    The U.S. automotive collision repair industry consists of approximately
60,000 shops with estimated combined sales of $24.8 billion. The mechanical
repair industry comprises more than 150,000 shops nationwide with aggregate
sales estimated at more than $70 billion.
    LKQ Corporation is North America's leading automotive recycling company.
With headquarters in Chicago, the company operates a national network of
recycling plants and distribution centers throughout the United States.