Sator and Unipart Combine Purchasing Power in "AP•United"

AMSTERDAM, September 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

With effect from 1 October 2011 the subsidiaries of Sator Holding and the English Unipart Automotive are combining their purchasing power in a newly founded enterprise to be called "AP•United".

This combination of forces is the logical consequence of the majority interest recently acquired in Unipart Automotive by the investment group H2, which is also the majority shareholder in Sator Holding. Combining the purchasing power of both businesses creates a unique opportunity for suppliers in the components industry to collaborate with a large, growing group which will apply itself forcefully to the efficiency of purchasing processes and logistics.

"Within traditional purchasing methods many unnecessary costs are still being incurred by both producers and distributors," according to Adriaan Roggeveen, who will take up the position of Chairman of AP•United. "For a while now the simple totalling of purchasing volumes has no longer been sufficient to enable keener purchasing," says Roggeveen, who as the former board chairman of the Van Heck Group and later Sator Holding can boast over 40 years experience in the auto components sector.

"Cut out any waste is therefore also our motto when it comes to the cost of purchasing processes and logistics. A great deal can be achieved with the joint purchasing volumes of Sator and Unipart and the resulting economies of scale," according to Roggeveen.

Sator Holding is the parent company of eight distributors of automotive parts and tools in the Benelux and France. These include the Van Heck companies in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, Havam, Harrems, Nipparts, Pauwels and Hartsant. With a turnover of 325 million euros Sator Holding is the market leader in its catchment area.

Unipart Automotive is the largest British distributor of automotive parts, tools and garage equipment. With 175 branches spread across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland it has a turnover of 205 million euros.

AP•United will be based in Amsterdam, where, with a team of experts from both Sator and Unipart, it will utilise their knowledge of purchasing processes, ICT and logistics to put the motto "Cut out any waste" into practice.

"We cannot rule out the fact that the number of participants in AP•United may grow in the near future as a result of new acquisitions by our major shareholder H2 Equity Partners," says Roggeveen.

The collaboration of Unipart Automotive and Sator will be restricted to joint purchasing within AP•United. Furthermore, both businesses will be completely independent, with autonomous management, and will operate in their own markets.

AP•United will present itself for the first time at the forthcoming Equip Auto to be held in Paris from 11 to 15 October in Paris.

For further information: http://www.ap-united.com