FleetPride, an independent aftermarket distributor of heavy-duty truck and trailer parts, has completed the acquisition of Midway Truck Parts.

The acquisition includes 13 Midway Truck Parts locations in Illinois and one in St. Louis, Mo.; four of the Illinois locations offer drive-in service. The St. Louis location has moved into FleetPride's St. Louis branch located at 8000 Hall Street. The Midway Trailer Sales & Service division is not part of this purchase agreement and will continue to operate as a separate company.

Midway Truck Parts was founded in 1978 by Pete Pasdach, president and Rich Murawski, vice president. Pasdach will stay on as regional vice president of FleetPride's Midwest Region and Murawski will stay on as general manager for the Bridgeview location. Employment offers were extended to all operational employees and over 150 accepted, many of whom are now assuming management roles with FleetPride.

The aftermarket acquisition is among the largest in recent memory, and only one in a string of similar transactions conducted by rapidly expanding FleetPride. The larger trend of consolidation in both the aftermarket and the trucking industry has some experts worried about the long-term health of the industry.

Read more about the acquisition at www.truckinginfo.com.