APT Auto Parts has expanded into Ontario with the opening of a 6,500-square-metre (70,000-sq.-ft.) distribution centre in Grimsby. The facility represents a major step in the Burnaby, B.C.-based collision parts distributor’s goal of building a nationwide operation. Following its acquisition of Hamilton-area A-1 Auto Parts, APT retained the existing team and is using Grimsby to serve customers across Ontario, Quebec and beyond. The company continues to emphasize customer service, product quality, CAPA-certified parts and long-standing industry relationships.
- Company: APT Auto Parts
- Headquarters: Burnaby, British Columbia
- New location: Grimsby, Ontario
- Facility size: 6,500 square metres (70,000 sq. ft.)
- Address: 270 Hunter Rd., Grimsby, Ont.
- Grand opening: Aug. 13
- Attendance: Approximately 250 customers, suppliers and industry guests
- Ontario expansion: APT’s first distribution centre in Ontario
- Acquisition: APT acquired Hamilton-area A-1 Auto Parts Ltd.
- A-1 history: Approximately 45 years in operation
- Grimsby leadership: John Molnar Jr., general manager
- Employees: Approximately 25–30 at the time of opening
- Service area: Primarily Ontario and Quebec, with shipping capabilities farther east
- Expansion history: Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Saskatchewan preceded the Ontario expansion
- Company goal: Build a nationwide distribution network
- Product quality: Approximately 80% of APT’s inventory is CAPA-certified, where certification is available
- Return policy: Eligible parts can be returned within six months if they remain in original, undamaged and unpainted packaging
- Family business: APT was founded by John Abu-Ata’s parents in British Columbia in 1980; John Abu-Ata is president and CEO.
This summer, APT Auto Parts marked the launch of its first Ontario distribution centre with a grand opening event that drew about 250 customers, suppliers and other industry guests to Grimsby.
The Burnaby, B.C.-based aftermarket collision parts distributor hosted the Aug. 13 event at its new 6,500-square-metre [70,000 -sq.-ft.] facility at 270 Hunter Rd. Grimsby Mayor Jeff Jordan presented a plaque and took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
APT president and CEO John Abu-Ata said the turnout exceeded his expectations.
“We could barely fit everybody in the room,” Abu-Ata said. “I couldn’t believe how many people were there.”
An exotic car display included vehicles brought by friends of John Molnar Sr. and a selection from Ultimate Exotics.
Suppliers also travelled to Ontario for the opening. For Abu-Ata, the turnout reflected something that has been central to APT since his parents started the business in British Columbia in 1980.
“Business is about relationships,” he said. “You take care of them, they take care of you. This is how it works.”
Abu-Ata’s parents immigrated to Canada from Lebanon. His father had been a parts dealer there, particularly for Fiat, but initially struggled to find work in Canada because of the language barrier and his unfamiliarity with the North American vehicle market.
“He couldn’t find anything because his language still wasn’t good, but he was a parts dealer back in Lebanon,” Abu-Ata said. “He didn’t know the North American market, but he knew parts.”
After about a year, the couple decided to build a business around that knowledge. His mother, despite having no parts background, handled the phones while his father sold and delivered parts. For roughly two decades, his parents built the company while raising John and his siblings, Jim Abu-Ata and Suzy Hodali.
“They worked so hard to build a good base for us,” Abu-Ata said. “Really, without them, we’d be nothing. We have to honour them. Mom and dad set us up for success.”
All three eventually joined the family business.
John now serves as president and CEO, Jim as vice-president of operations and Hodali as accounts receivable manager.
APT began expanding beyond British Columbia about 15 years ago with a Calgary operation. Edmonton and Winnipeg followed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with Saskatchewan added last year.
Abu-Ata said the apparently difficult timing of the pandemic expansions actually gave the company an opportunity.
“That was an experience, but it was actually a good time to do it because everything was slow and nobody was doing anything, and we were taking advantage of that time.”
Ontario was the next major step.
“Our goal is to be nationwide,” Abu-Ata said. “Without Ontario, I really don’t think you can do it.”
The Grimsby expansion followed APT’s acquisition of A-1 Auto Parts Ltd., a Hamilton-area parts business operated by John Molnar Sr. and his family for about 45 years.
Molnar Sr. is retiring, while his son, John Molnar Jr., is serving as general manager of the Grimsby operation.
Abu-Ata said Molnar Jr. had effectively spent his life learning the business.
“He worked for him since he was like 10 years old,” Abu-Ata said. “He grew up in this business. He knows the parts business extremely well.”
APT retained the entire A-1 team. The company also chose a location about 15 minutes from A-1’s former operation in part to make the transition practical for employees.
“If you go too far, the staff is like, ‘I’m not commuting,’” Abu-Ata said.
He said the fit went beyond retaining an experienced staff. The Molnar family approached the business in much the same way as the Abu-Ata family.
“They believe the same thing we do: service is first. Always take care of the customer. Quality and service — our motto.”
Abu-Ata said that philosophy goes back to his father, who would extend credit to customers who needed time and develop relationships not only with shop owners but with technicians working inside bodyshops.
Some of those technicians later opened businesses of their own and became APT customers.
“He’d talk to the body men and get to know the body men, and then when they decided to open their own shop, they’d call him,” Abu-Ata said. “Everybody knew my dad. Uncle Sam, basically everybody called him.”
APT’s six-month return policy is one way the company has carried that approach forward.
Abu-Ata said a repairer can order a part only to have the vehicle owner postpone or abandon the repair, leaving the shop with inventory after a conventional 30-day return period expires.
APT allows eligible parts to be returned for six months, provided the product remains in its original packaging and has not been damaged or painted.
“We give people time,” he said. “That’s one thing our customers appreciate.”
Product quality is another part of the equation. Abu-Ata estimated about 80% of APT inventory is certified by the Automotive Certified Parts Association, noting CAPA certification is not available for every product category.
“Whatever they make CAPA, we bring in CAPA,” he said.
Abu-Ata said the independent certification provides a check on fit, finish and quality that a distributor cannot realistically perform on every component itself.
“It’s a third party that’s testing that product, testing the fit, the finish, all of that,” he said. “We don’t have vehicles to test stuff on, so we have to trust the third party.”
The objective, he said, is straightforward.
“We want to get the right part the first time to the customer,” he said. “We don’t want to be exchanging or have parts coming back because of poor fit. That’s our goal. Again, that’s customer service.”
Around 25 to 30 employees were working at the Grimsby warehouse at the time of the opening, and the operation was still filling out. Abu-Ata said six containers were being unloaded, with another seven or eight expected the following week.
The facility will primarily support customers in Ontario and Quebec, while its shipping department can also move parts farther east, including Newfoundland.
And Grimsby may not be enough for long.
“I don’t think you can do it with one warehouse,” Abu-Ata said of Ontario. “You’re probably going to need another warehouse. It’s just a gigantic market.”
For now, he credits Molnar Jr. and the former A-1 team with getting APT’s biggest eastern expansion to date off the ground.
“John Jr. is really the key to all of this — him and his team,” Abu-Ata said. “They have worked for a month getting this place ready.”
“I’m very, very proud of them. I’m sure John, the father, is very proud of his son
as well.”
