Groupe Touchette, one of Canada’s largest tire distributors, has acquired Atlas Tire Wholesale. No reorganization is planned, according to Groupe Touchette, apart from “a few adjustments that may be necessary.” And, the two companies plan to gradually integrate the Ontario market over the next year.

Atlas distributes tires to car dealerships and independent tire retailers from three distribution centers in the Toronto area (Mississauga, Scarborough and Vaughan), with a fourth DC (also in Vaughan) scheduled to begin operations this spring. The new, 182,000-square-foot facility will be Groupe Touchette’s largest DC.

Atlas also has operations in Alberta (Edmonton and Calgary) and British Columbia (Delta).

“Atlas Tire Wholesale Inc. is a respected major player in Ontario, making it the ideal partner for Groupe Touchette to strengthen its position as a key player in Canada and, more specifically, in Ontario,” said Nicolas Touchette, owner and CEO of Groupe Touchette. “In addition to providing an opportunity for increased market coverage, we realized that there was a natural fit and no significant overlap between both companies.

“With the acquisition of Atlas Tire Wholesale Inc., we are taking an important step in our expansion plan by ensuring a strong presence in Canada’s largest market.”

Up to now, Groupe Touchette had been distributing tires in the Ontario market from five DCs, including one in Brampton to serve the Toronto area.

And, Groupe Touchette has been growing, opening new DCs in Nova Scotia (Halifax) and Quebec (Quebec City), relocating its DC in Saskatchewan (Regina), and expanding a DC in British Columbia (Vancouver). With the addition of the seven Atlas facilities, Groupe Touchette will have a total of 35 DCs across Canada.

The transaction brings a 25-percent increase in total storage capacity. With the acquisition of Atlas, Groupe Touchette forecasts sales revenue in the range of CDN$550 million to CDN$650 million.