Polk Acquires PCS-Global to Offer Expanded Automotive Consulting Services
11 December 2000
Polk Acquires PCS-Global to Offer Expanded Automotive Consulting Services
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Dec. 11 Polk, the longest standing
curator of automobile records in the United States, has acquired the
intellectual property rights of PCS-Global, an automotive-management,
consulting and organizational-development firm. The acquisition launches a
consulting and training team within Polk Professional Services that will
provide business improvement solutions for dealers and other businesses in the
automotive retail channel.
The relationship between the two companies began in February as Polk and
PCS-Global began to explore the possibility of a synergistic working
partnership. The benefits of this acquisition will be realized as Polk
continues its efforts to capture a larger share of the dealer market and
supply consultative business solutions to the automotive industry.
As a result of the acquisition, Dr. John Mlinarcik, formerly president and
CEO of PCS-Global, has been named as a vice president of Polk Professional
Services, heading up their dealer channel area. According to Stephen R. Polk,
president and CEO of the Polk company, "We are delighted to have Dr. John and
his team help build our dealer consulting services. They bring skills that
are second to none in change-management, process-improvement and automotive
retail experience."
Speaking about the acquisition, Dr. John said, "We are excited about the
opportunity of expanding Polk's in-dealership services through an integrated
and comprehensive portfolio of business improvement products, services and
strategies. We will work closely with existing Polk teams, which support the
automotive OEMs, suppliers and dealers to enhance our services with the
ultimate goal of 'driving results throughout the automotive channel'."
About PCS-Global
PCS-Global, founded 23 years ago and headquartered in Harrison, Mich., is
a management-consulting, organizational-development and performance-
enhancement firm. The company provides a systematic, relationship-based
approach to business development and change management through their
copyrighted process known as the V-Track(C) Business Improvement Model. For
more than a decade, PCS-Global has worked exclusively with automotive clients
and the company's significant alliances will help Polk increase the use of its
in-dealership business solutions.
PCS-Global's 127-acre executive retreat overlooking Budd Lake in central
Michigan will continue to host exclusive training and strategic planning
meetings.
About the Polk Company
Polk has served the automotive industry for nearly 80 years and is the
longest standing curator of automobile records in the United States. Founded
in Detroit in 1870, Polk launched its motor vehicle statistical operations in
1922 when the first car registration reports were published. It now provides
automotive solutions to nearly every segment of the motor vehicle industry as
an analytical consultant and statistician, as a provider of database-marketing
services, as a supplier of vehicle histories, and as a data enabler for
geographic information systems. Based in Southfield, Mich., Polk is a
privately held global firm, currently operating in Australia, Brazil, Canada,
China, France, Germany, Holland, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom and the
United States.