Zip’s Acquires AW Direct

Zip’s, a provider of tow trucks and replacement parts, has acquired towing accessories provider AW Direct. The acquisition creates a single-source supplier for the towing and recovery industry.

“AW Direct will continue to serve its broad spectrum of customers who operate a variety of tow truck brands. All AW Direct inventory, which comprises more than 10,000 unique items, has already been transferred to the Zip’s warehouse in Iowa,” states a Zip’s press release.

“With our two companies coming together, towing professionals now have one simple shopping experience for virtually everything they need to safely and efficiently operate a tow truck,” says Paul Rottinghaus, Zip’s president. “We’ve been working hard over the past several months to ensure that this transition is as seamless as possible for our customers. Our new motto is ‘stronger together’ because that’s exactly what we are — and our customers are going to benefit from that.”

Zip’s has been making investments to ensure that there is no lapse in service for AW Direct customers as the transition takes place. “In bringing on AW Direct, we understood that we needed to ramp up for the increase in volume,” Rottinghaus says.

Zip’s has hired additional customer service representatives and distribution personnel to smooth the transition, Rottinghaus says. Several prominent AW Direct employees have joined the Zip’s team, the release states, including Michele Smedberg and Tony Hagen. AW Direct personnel will continue to operate the call center with the same phone number. The new director of digital marketing for Zip’s is AW Direct recruit Lindsey Boschert.

The AW Direct product offering is now available at Zips.com and through the Zip’s AW Direct catalog and customer call center. Visitors to awdirect.com will be automatically redirected to the Zip’s website, zips.com.

“Everything AW Direct customers have come to love about AW Direct will continue,” Rottinghaus says. “Furthermore, AW Direct customers will also benefit from everything Zip’s has to offer.”