ARROW SPEED WAREHOUSE FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY; KEYSTONE BIDS FOR ASSETS

Arrow Speed Warehouse, a 51-year-old distributor of specialty equipment based in Kansas City, Kansas, filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this week. According to the Kansas City Star and other local media reports, Keystone Automotive Operations has emerged as a likely buyer for Arrow Speed’s assets.

Keystone has reportedly bid $12 million to acquire Arrow Speed’s inventory and other assets, according to a company press release.

The Star reports that Arrow Speed listed assets of $26 million and debts of $31.6 million in its Chapter 11 filing. In the wake of the filing, Arrow Speed laid off about 35 of its 213 employees.

“It’s the whole economy right now—$4 gas, low consumer confidence, and consumers not having discretionary income,” Ronald L. Coppaken, president and principal owner of Arrow Speed since 1985, told the Star. “And then we sell a lot of truck accessories, and quite frankly, the lack of light truck sales and SUVs has caused our business to be down.”

Arrow Speed has 100,000 square feet of warehouse and office space in Kansas City, Kansas, and branch warehouses totaling 170,000 square feet in Tulsa, St. Louis, St. Paul, Dallas and Nashville.